Reflections of Eternity
by SilverKitsune2017
Summary: To be a photographer, you need an eye for beauty, and Shisui has seen beauty across the world. When he returns home from a northern adventure, the new assistant editor is in for a teasing. How can he resist when the newcomer is the most beautiful man he's ever seen? But the meeting leaves its mark. Three words Shisui faintly knows, but has never seen. Stay with me.
1. Chapter 1

Reflections of Eternity

**Silver's Author's Note:** This is a collaboration between myself and celesteia193. It's also a yaoi story. That means it features a male x male romantic pairing. In this case it's Itachi x Shisui. If any of that bothers you, you might want to leave now. For those of you still here, we hope you enjoy this story and reviews are always appreciated.

**celestia193's Author's Note:** Wow, it's been a while since we've posted anything (school really bites at the end of the semester). But, lately I've been obsessed with the beauty of the deep, emotional relationship between Itachi and Shisui. Shisui really got the short end of the stick and I really can't find enough Shisui love out there. So, I thought why not write our own? This isn't the only story for these two that we've got in the works, but it's definitely going to be the lightest and fluffiest of the bunch. And some of it is inspired by the episode in which Shisui flips up Itachi's hair when they're kids. The amount of art involving Shisui playing with Itachi's hair is astounding. But to be fair, who wouldn't want to play with it?

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Naruto and make no profit off of any of our fanfics.

Chapter 1

Many people had the mistaken impression that Itachi's job was 'boring,' but he didn't see it that way. No, there was something exciting about constantly striving to produce the best issue to date. There was also comfort in controlling little details and fixing mistakes.

So, here he was with Konan trying to choose the next leading story for their magazine. Although he was 'only' an assistant editor, Itachi was in charge of this issue because the editor was on vacation. The fact that the eccentric's vacations always coincided with 'bikini season' hadn't escaped Itachi's notice, but who was he to argue if the silver haired editor wanted time off and had provided Itachi with the chance for his big break?

"These photos are stunning." Some in particular. "Of course, we'll need to see them properly developed, but if they're this exceptional already...I can't foresee not using them."

Konan laughs softly and scrolls down to the next images, including an inukshuk against a backdrop of a fading sunset already filling with the dim sparkling of stars. The timing on the photo had been perfect. Not that she had expected any less of their most talented young photographer. "Coverage of the arctic circle as summer melts away the snow covering the frozen tundras. It's a project that we've been wanting to do for a while now." So long, in fact, that they'd been planning the trips and what the themes and attempted photo captures would be since last year. And they'd had one of their photographers step up to the plate for the intense month of travel leading up to the publication of this issue.

"I can see why. This might very well be our best edition yet." Itachi smiles at the beautiful photos. Their magazine was known for their breathtaking images, but these had to be its crowned jewels.

"I agree. Shisui's been on a tour of the Arctic Circle to gather this collection for us. He's been gone two months now, but his flight landed a couple of days ago." Konan was honestly glad to have Shisui finally coming back. He had a way of lightening up the office like no one else. "I imagine that he'll wander into the office soon with the developed photos."

She clicks to a photo of ice floes in the ocean, taken from the shore at dawn. And among them, flippers curve out of the water, setting a small and graceful spray of water into the air. "I can't wait to see all of the other gems he collected for us while he was running around polar bear country."

"I hope so, but I certainly wouldn't blame him if he wanted take take a few days off." Itachi smiles again at the photos, marveling at the intricacy of them. "That was both the trip of a lifetime and quite the exhausting expedition to embark on."

"It was, but I'm sure that you'll be sending me off on another one just as soon as Kakashi comes up with a theme for the next major issue." A tall figure in a dark blue, high collared shirt leans against the door of the spacious office with a soft, brilliant smile on his face. He holds up a thick folder filled to the brim with freshly developed photographs.

"Shisui." Konan laughs and shakes her head. Her eyes gleam as she takes in the slightly disheveled appearance of his tousled ebony locks. "So you've finally crawled out of bed." It was hardly a new occurrence. Despite his adventurous nature, Shisui was sensitive to jet lag right after the end of a long trip.

Itachi tilts his head. The man had fantastic timing. It was almost as if he had been summoned by the mere use of his name. If one was going to summon someone, they might as well summon a gorgeous photographer. "I'll admit that's likely true. So, you're Shisui. I've hard so much about you." Itachi smiles at him, reaching for the photos. "I'm Itachi. We've corresponded a few times over email, but I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you face to face before." It was probably best to ignore Konan's gentle ribbing over Shisui's nocturnal habits.

"Yeah. So, you're Itachi." Shisui's eyes glitter mischievously as he crosses the room and hands over the folder like a precious artifact. "Konan and Kakashi rave about you behind your back. You're apparently the greatest assistant editor to drop into their laps right out of college."

"Of course we've been raving." Konan rises to her feet and shoots Shisui an indulgent smile as she strides past him towards the door. "And now that you're here, I think I'll go to check on the status of our other roving photographers. I'm sure that you can walk Itachi through your pictures and which ones would work for the stories we're running."

Itachi could only hope that he wasn't actually blushing at Shisui's secondhand praise. "Yes, I'm Itachi and according to what Konan just said, the rest of that is accurate."

She glances back at Itachi over her shoulder and her lips curve into a sly smirk. "Play nicely."

Itachi shoots the bluenette a dirty look for that gems of a comment. "I always play nicely." What was that supposed to mean? Hadn't he been courteous to all his coworkers? Why would Shisui be any different?

Konan chuckles under her breath as she steps out of the room and Shisui's gaze follows her for a moment until the door closes. Then his dark, jet black gaze flicks back towards the assistant editor and he steps forward to occupy Konan's vacated chair. "Don't mind her too much, she likes to tease."

"Yes, you're right about that." Itachi shakes his head. Right. He was a professional. A little lighthearted banter was nothing. "So which of these would you say are your favorite? Which best capture the heart of the Arctic?" It would be almost impossible for him to pick from among the best at first glance. They were all so enchanting. It was almost as if he was looking at another world.

"Well, I took most of the pictures according to the stories that you're running." He'd gotten the list from Konan before leaving, then a revised list halfway through his trip with the specifics of the articles. "I focused on scenic destinations, but I got some photos of festival preparations while I was there as well." Shisui opens the folder and lays out a number of pictures. One of people drumming and dancing, another of the aurora borealis stretching across the sky, a mountainside with lights strung along the treetops, and a man and woman looking up underneath a dark and starry sky. "I'll take a picture of anything if I think it's beautiful. And I think that the photos that best capture the heart of the Arctic are the ones that draw you in the most."

"They're all beautiful, Shisui." Itachi smiles in wonder at the festivals, the mountains, his eyes trail over the Northern Lights in wonder, but it was the picture of the man and the woman looking up at the sky that captured his attention the most. "It seems as though your strategy is working for you."

Speaking of working, his hair tie most decidedly was not, stubbornly deciding to come loose again. Itachi shrugs, deciding to just take it out. He could just redo it. The man standing next to him had survived the beauty and terror of the frozen north. It was highly unlikely he was going to raise an eyebrow at Itachi fixing his ponytail.

He pulls the tie from his hair and the raven colored tresses cascade down nearly the entire of the length of his back. He should probably consider trimming it, but he had always liked it long even if that style was somewhat out of favor. Most didn't fuss over the length of his hair though as long as it was tied up.

But before the Itachi has the chance to pull it all away, pale fingers weave into the silky soft tresses as jet black eyes gaze at the sheet of raven black, entranced by the sight and unable to resist the urge to run his fingers through it. "Have you ever considered being a model instead of an editor?"

This time, Itachi knew there was no point in hoping he wasn't blushing. He could feel his cheeks growing ever hotter. Both because of Shisui's words and the way the man was touching him. Never before had someone touching his hair felt that...intimate. "No, I'm too much of introvert really..."

Itachi wasn't entirely sure what he should do in this situation. Putting his hair up seemed like the logical thing to do, but it also seemed rude to indirectly 'smack' Shisui away. Then again, it was irrational to be worried about seeming impolite. He wasn't the one who had just grabbed a stranger's hair and started running their fingers through it with the intimacy that only a lover should be able to accomplish.

Shisui takes the choice from him as he slides the hair tie from Itachi's fingers and gathers up each beautiful lock of Itachi's hair and pulls them back behind Itachi's shoulders. His fingers work easily but slowly, knowing each way to layer the soft strands together. "That's too bad, you've got the most beautiful hair I've ever seen." He wraps the tie around Itachi's hair, leaving it loose until just above the line of his shoulders. Then he twirls the ponytail around his fingers and lets the bulk of it rest in the palm of his hand.

For reasons, he didn't entirely understand, Itachi finds himself swallowing hard. "Thank you? As much as I adore your photos, it appears you may have missed your calling as a hair stylist?"

"Maybe." Shisui feels the comfortable weight in his hand, then smirks and lets it start to slip from his fingers, only to flip the end up almost to the back of Itachi's head. "But I like the adventure that photography brings."

"Well, I can't really argue with the quality of your work and I'm glad you enjoy it." His cheeks were still burning and Itachi tries his best to look at the photos, not Shisui's face. "Your insight has been very helpful."

"Good." There was an ethereal beauty to Itachi that drew Shisui's gaze, and unlike Itachi, he wasn't afraid to show it. "You can pick whichever photos call to you, I took enough that you should have enough to fill up the entire magazine with nothing but photo-spreads." Shisui leans back and stretches his arms, then puts a hand on the desk as he stands up. He shoots the assistant editor a winning smile. "And if you need any more help before the issue goes out, email me and I'll come back in."

"I'll keep that in mind." Itachi could scarcely recall the last time that someone had made him feel this way. Like some schoolboy with his first crush. "You can take the rest of the day off if you like. I know that jet lag can be...annoying."

"Yeah, jet lag after hiking thirty kilometers through Norway isn't fun, but I should be fine by tomorrow." Shisui stretches again, feeling his joints cracking a little as his shirt pulls across his back. "I'll take a bath with salts, then drop dead for about fifteen hours."

"Thirty kilometers?" Itachi blinks. That was downright insane. "Your stamina is incredible. You've definitely earned your sleep and hot bath."

"I definitely have." Shisui steps away and places his hand on the doorknob to pull open the door to Itachi's office. "Enjoy the pictures, Itachi." Shisui's eyes glitter mischievously. "Maybe one of these days, I'll add some new pictures to my personal collection."

He feels his blush return with a vengeance. "P-personal collection?" Damn it. Itachi hadn't blushed in years. What the hell was wrong with him?

"Blushing is a good look for you, Itachi." A smirk curves Shisui's lips and his curly ebony locks bounce slightly as he steps out of the office and closes the door behind him.

"Damn it." Itachi groans as Shisui leaves. The other man was likely never going to let him live the blushing down.

* * *

One of Shisui's favorite things to do was nap after getting home from a trip. He loved his trips, but there was nothing quite like soaking in the tub, then sleeping the rest of the day and night away while snuggled up in his comfortable blankets.

But even he could only sleep for so long, and out of a burning itch to do more than just laze around his room, he'd been foolish enough to complain about his boredom to one of the few people aggressively intent on relieving it in all the most mentally painful ways possible. Maybe the fact that he had a weapon in his hands would convince her to exercise mercy on him.

A fourth arrow punches into the target at the end of the range and Shisui pulls another from the case sitting next to him. He raises the bow up to eye level and peers down the range, draws, and looses another arrow into the target's second ring, creating a perfect pentagon.

"You are such a show off. Drawing with your arrows." Anko laughs as she watches Shisui's latest creation take shape. "I'm curious why you created a pentagon and who put that bounce in your step?" Someone must have. Shisui was cheerful by nature, but even he rarely skipped places.

It seemed that karma had finally acted to spare him from the great wrath of Anko's interrogations today. This approach barely qualified as gentle prodding. Shisui smiles softly as he draws two more arrows and fits one against the string of his bow. "I met the assistant editor yesterday when I dropped off the photos I took. I've only shot business emails back and forth with him, but yesterday was my first time sitting in with him and going over some of the photos in person." The two arrows punch triangles into the shape and Shisui reaches for three more. He holds two between his fingers as he draws again.

Anko laughs. Oh this was perfect. Shisui should know better than to give her an opening like that. "So did you get a raise or get laid because you look pretty perky."

Shisui laughs and punches a couple more holes in the target. "You got me. I'm sorry for keeping it a secret." He shoots her a mischievous smirk. "We're planning a honeymoon in Italy, somewhere on the coast, plenty of fresh air and sunshine and people to peel grapes for us while I ravish him in a villa belonging to an ancient emperor."

"Sounds perfect. Must have been lust at first sight." Anko grins, Shisui was nothing if not...creative. "Quite erotic honeymoon you have planned. In all seriousness though, tell me more about this cute little assistant."

"The only thing cute about him is the way he blushed." After all, Itachi was so much more than just…cute. Shisui takes up the last arrow and shoots it directly into the middle of the star he'd created, a perfect bulls-eye. "His name is Itachi, a couple of years younger than us, I think. Not long out of college, but Kakashi brought him on about six months ago to serve as the assistant editor. He does a good job, he's responsible and prompt, polite and respectful." Shisui sighs softly. "And impossibly beautiful."

Oh Shisui had it bad then. "Well, if he's already blushing around you the first day you met him, that means he either likes you or he's naturally shy. I suppose both is an option." Anko readies her own arrows, releasing her bow and allowing a single arrow to sail through the sky towards its intended target. "Gotta say, I'm impressed that he's that young and already in management. Well, kinda anyway. So, what you're saying is you were only half joking about that little villa fantasy of yours?"

"Maybe." It was just a fantasy, but…there was something about Itachi's small, gentle smile and the pink hue of his cheeks that made Shisui want to wrap him all up and hide him away. There was a softness about Itachi that was just…almost too good, too innocent. "Though I might have made him blush by accident." Well, maybe half by accident.

"Shisui Uchiha what did you do to that poor innocent assistant editor?" Anko raises an eyebrow. This sounded like it was going to be particularly juicy.

Shisui puts his bow down and rakes a hand through his hair, vividly reminded of what he'd done to Itachi, and what he'd been tempted to do as well. "It was…his ponytail had gotten a little messy, so he'd pulled out the tie to fix it. But when he did, I couldn't stop myself from running my fingers through it. He didn't stop me." It had looked so soft, so warm. "It was even softer than I thought it would be."

"That's pretty bold, Shisui. I mean you just meet the guy and you grabbed his hair out of nowhere?" Anko chuckles and shakes her head. "Then again, I suppose it's classier than grabbing something located further south...below the belt."

"It's not like I grabbed it and used it to drag him over to the desk and bend him over it." Honestly, Anko should give Shisui a little more credit than that. "I smoothed it out for him and tied it back up properly."

"How gallant. You said his hair was in a ponytail?" She tilts her hair, playing with her own spiky locks that were done up in an unconventional version of the same hairstyle. "How long is it anyway?"

"It stops almost halfway down his back." Sure, it wasn't something Shisui was used to seeing on a man, but on Itachi it was just…natural, and no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't conjure an image of it any other way. "If you're ever looking for tips, I would definitely go ask him."

"Mmm hard for a guy to pull that off, but you seem pretty smitten. Guess he's doing something right." She launches some more arrows, her smile turning smug as they hit her target. "So, are you going to make a move or admire the scenery?"

Shisui rolls his eyes and crosses the field once it's free of flying arrows. He could play dumb and assume that she was talking about their archery practice, but then she would just pry even more. "I'm fine with admiring the scenery if he's not open to more. He might have blushed, and that might mean what you think it does, but I'd rather be sure before risking getting nailed for workplace harassment."

She frowns, but nods in understanding. That did make sense. "A good archer always familiarizes themselves with the target before drawing their bow. That's true on and off the field."

"Exactly." Shisui pulls the last arrow from the target and flips it over in his hand. Then he smiles. "But somehow, I do get the feeling that Itachi won't mind that much." There was a draw to Itachi that Shisui had never felt before. And he looked forward to feeling it again the next time he was in the office. "I hope that he'll let me take photos of him." He could see them now. Dressed casually in dark pants and a high-collared shirt, curled up in the grass with his hair askew, a soft smile on his lips and a sheen of red in his eyes as the sun passes overhead.

"Sexy photos are always fun, but they're very risky in this day and age." She shrugs at his suggestion. "I doubt someone who works for a newspaper would risk it, but who knows?"

Shisui shakes his head and strides back to his case to deposit his arrows. "I wasn't talking about sexy pictures." Though he wouldn't be adverse to having a few of those as well. "There's just something about him that makes me want to bring out everything that he's hiding with his introversion. I bet that I could make a picture of him reading a book look even better than models on magazine covers."

"I gotta admit I'm curious to see what this guy actually looks like." Anko's eyes flicker with mischief. "Still, I'm happy that you're so smitten with someone. You make for such an adorable lovesick puppy."

A lovesick puppy…is that really what he looked like right now? Young and adventurous, Shisui had fooled around a few times, had a steady girlfriend in high school, but no one had ever called him a lovesick puppy before. Not even Anko. But Shisui shoots her his bright grin and takes up his bow again. "If this is what love feels like, then I don't ever want to be sick of it."

"Yep. You're adorable. If the man is even the slightest bit interested in men and he doesn't jump you for saying something like that, there is something wrong." She pauses. Well, there might be one exception. "Unless of course, he's already with someone. Otherwise, assuming he's not straight, he'll probably be putty in your hands."

"I hope so." More and more, Shisui fancied the idea of charming and courting Itachi. The idea of being able to hold that man in his arms was intoxicating. "Alright, let's go on a one for one round this time." Shisui nocks an arrow and gazes along the length of the shaft, his eye on the prize, the small red bulls-eye right in the center. "Loser covers drinks?"

She smirks at the offer. "Sure, I never turn down free drinks."

Shisui chuckles and shakes his head, then closes his right eye. Maybe he wouldn't let her win this time.


	2. Chapter 2

Reflections of Eternity

**Authors' Note:** Thanks for the reviews. We hope that you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 2

It was the strangest thing. The skin of his wrist was smooth, there was no pain or irritation, and Shisui knew that Anko wouldn't have let him be stupid enough after leaving the bar to run off to a tattoo parlor. So then why…why were there faint traces of words etched painlessly into his skin when they had no reason to be there?

If he could read them, then maybe the mystery would be solved. But he could no more read them than shoot a bullseye in the dark. He could take a guess, based on the length of the words and their configuration, but the possibilities felt almost endless.

He huffs softly and shakes his head. He could ponder why he seemed to have words written into his skin later. He had only so much time before being sent out on his next assignment, and he planned to make at least a little bit of headway, even if it meant that he earned himself a firm slap.

Of course, Shisui didn't have an office, per say. He didn't need one. He was never at the office long enough to really need one. All he needed was his cameras, his laptop, and the photo development room stashed away on the third floor of the building. It was rather conveniently located just below the editor's office.

And right below Itachi's as well.

Shisui steps out into the hall and spots Itachi's door left ever so slightly ajar. Door ajar, no voices coming from within, that meant that Itachi wasn't caught in a last-minute pre-lunch meeting. Perfect.

He nudges the door open silently with his toe and raises his hand to knock on the doorframe as he leans against it. "Are you diving into pictures of icebergs and Arctic scuba diving? Or are you planning on coming up for air sometime soon?"

It was amazing how after only one day, Itachi already had that velvety voice memorized. Then again, the man did have a way of making a lasting first impression. He doesn't even need to look up know it was Shisui. "Mmm a mix of the three, I should think. This an important issue and Kakashi loves to flirt with deadlines. I figured I might as well try to finish the project before he comes back."

"He's gone for a few more days, Itachi. Taking a lunch break isn't going to set you back. Not if your work ethic is as admirable as I think it is." Shisui strides into the office with a smile and leans down to slide the papers to the corner of Itachi's desk. "So why don't you come with me and get a taste of fresh air and good food before you bury yourself in revisions again."

It was impossible to say no to that smile. "Alright. I might as well." Itachi sets the photos down with the utmost care before standing up and walking over to Shisui. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hungry." He shrugs. "I skipped breakfast. Did you have any particular place in mind?"

"There's a little cafe near here that I like. They do tea, coffee, and sandwiches from around the world. And the owner's wife makes excellent dango." Shisui was fond of the food there, and their selection could handle most visiting palates. "It's a quiet place that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves, but I think that it's a good place to relax and collect your thoughts."

"That was quite the impressive review. You could have been in sales." Itachi smiles, laughing quietly. "It sounds wonderful."

"Alright, let's go." Shisui smirks as he reaches for Itachi's hand and pulls the assistant editor to his feet. "Though don't go getting any ideas about putting me in sales." He tugs Itachi out of the office and closes the door behind them in favor of making for the elevator. "It's strictly in my contract that Kakashi can't transfer me to the marketing department. I can 'assist' from time to time, but I wouldn't give up photography and all the travel just for a slightly bigger paycheck." Only slightly bigger was right, though, since Shisui actually made a decent salary with his photos. He liked to think it was because he was good at bringing back quality photos in great quantities.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Not with the kind of photos you can produce." Itachi chuckles, allowing Shisui to lead him off. The man was a force of nature. Besides, he'd agreed to go to lunch anyway. "I'm looking forward to seeing what your cafe has to offer."

"Then I promise not to disappoint you." Shisui steps first into the elevator and presses the button for the ground floor. "Do you…have any idea what you might like to eat?" The corner of his lips turns up into a slight smirk.

"I'm not sure. I thought I'd look at the menu and decide from there." Itachi smiles, missing the subtle innuendo.

"Alright." Shisui mentally sighs. But it was fine, Itachi was sweet and innocent, and Shisui wouldn't pursue a line of suggestion if it proved ineffective. "Here we are." The elevator doors open and he holds out his arm to let Itachi pass first into the lobby of the building. "After you."

"Thank you." Itachi smiles and steps out of the elevator when someone calls out his name. The person's face was partially hidden behind a large bouquet of red and white roses, but two things were likely. The man holding the flowers was a red head and around the assistant editor's age, perhaps a bit older.

"Itachi, I'm so glad I found you before you left." He smiles, lowering the bouquet. "It's been a while and I know that I could have handled it better, but we're not college kids anymore. I think we can make it work. These are for you."

Shisui raises an eyebrow as the redhead holds the flowers very nearly in Itachi's face. And by the way he was acting…it looked like one of Anko's predictions might be right on the money. Itachi clearly wasn't straight. But the way that the words spilled hurriedly out of the redhead's mouth set him on edge. An ex-boyfriend, obviously, and not one with whom Itachi had parted with on good terms. "Itachi?"

Itachi blinks, staring at the flowers and the two men beside him. He hadn't heard from Sasori in at least a year. "The flowers are lovely. You're right that we aren't college kids anymore, but I don't think it's a good idea for us to be together." He frowns and hands Sasori the flowers back. "We hurt each other once, let's not make that mistake again. I'm certain you can find someone else to give these to." He forces a wistful smile to his face. "A lot of people have a thing for redheads."

Invisible hackles raise and Shisui steps forward to place a hand in the small of Itachi's back as support, comfort, a protective gesture. "Ambushing someone while they're at work isn't very good manners, especially if you don't work here." And Shisui knew well that this man did not work with them. He'd never seen anyone even remotely resembling this Sasori within their employee pool.

Sasori scowls at Shisui. "So, is interrupting someone else's conversation." His eyes soften as they land on Itachi once more. "I can understand why you feel that way, but if you change your mind, I work at the downtown labs as a chemist. You can always visit me there."

"I'll keep that in mind, but I don't think I'll be visiting." Itachi glances at Shisui as if trying to gauge what the other man thought of the situation. "Anyway, I should be going. My colleague and I have work to do. I believe you know the way out."

Shisui's lips twitch slightly and his eyes narrow sharply. "You may want to take the chance to bow out before security decides to take an interest in why you've ambushed our assistant editor with unwanted attention." He presses his hand more firmly to Itachi's back and steps around the redhead. "Come on, Itachi, let's go and grab that lunch I promised. It's on me."

"That sounds lovely." He smiles at Shisui before casting a hesitant glance at a dejected looking Sasori. "I'd advise you to listen to him. Our security staff take their job very seriously."

A jet black gaze pins the intruder briefly in place, before Shisui guides Itachi forward out the front door without another word to the man. Though a part of him couldn't help but wonder just what Itachi had looked for in the other man. Forcing smiles and mentions of a bad romantic history wasn't something that he wanted to associate with Itachi. Nothing should hurt this beautiful being that he was so close to holding in his arms.

Only when the sun shines above them does Shisui break his silence. "I guess people haven't realized yet that you're supposed to leave ambushing your ex at work for the soap operas." Though for someone as beautiful as Itachi, he should have expected that there would be a disgruntled ex or two.

"I suppose not." Itachi rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Honestly, I haven't heard from Sasori in a year. I never expected this sort of a gesture..."

"It's fine. It's better than if you have been confronted alone." Shisui had seen enough situations like that to know that sometimes the pressure could be too much when dealing with an ex. Sometimes people just caved. He glances at Itachi, sighs, and raises his hand to run his fingers gently through Itachi's hair. "Are you alright?"

Itachi nods, not protesting affectionate gesture. "I think so. I'm more in shock than anything. He was my first serious relationship." He suddenly finds his feet rather fascinating. "It was wonderful, but we were both rather ambitious. Just in different ways. He majored in chemistry and for me it was English literature. I wanted to be an editor or a writer for as long as I could remember." Itachi laughs, knowing that the first option was something most children wouldn't have thought about as a career path initially. "Anyway, the relationship was wonderful. I can't lie, though. I prioritized my studies far over him and towards the end we were lucky to see each other once every couple of weeks. It's no wonder that he ended things, really."

Shisui sighs and guides Itachi across the street towards the cafe. He'd always loved the fact that it was so close to the office. He could run in and out and hit the cafe up whenever he got back. "If your studies took that much priority over him and you couldn't find a way to balance it all, if you weren't motivated to find a balance between them, then that just means that it wasn't true love. True love finds a way, no matter what sort of pain might happen in the process."

"Probably. I should have tried harder." He follows Shisui, his mind half in the present and half in the past. "It probably wasn't love, but it was at the very least a solid case of puppy love. When he finally did break it off, things got ugly. Never physical, but ugly enough. I never expected to see him again. Let alone that he'd contact me willingly."

The words give Shisui pause as he leads Itachi inside the cafe and catches the eye of the waitress near the counter. But even after giving it a moment of thought, Shisui found that he still came to the same conclusion. Itachi needed to get out of the headspace he was in, and fast.

So Shisui stops just short of one of the booths and curls his arm firmly around Itachi's waist. He twirls the end of Itachi's ponytail around his fingers and brings it to his lips, pressing a chaste kiss to the silky strands. "You should have someone who makes you feel like the center of their universe. When you have that, I don't think it will be that hard for you to feel the same way, no matter how much work needs doing."

Did hair kissing count as intimacy or a platonic touch? Itachi wasn't sure, but the way Shisui did it definitely felt intimate. "You're right and it doesn't really matter now anyway. It's over. Besides, I've learned my lesson."

"Okay." Shisui felt a strong urge to press his lips to Itachi's, fill the man with emotions and stir up every bit of passion hiding inside him. He wanted to kiss Itachi senseless and hear him sigh with pleasure. But…he would refrain. Because this wasn't a date, yet, and that was date behaviour. And he was already pushing the limit of what was socially acceptable as it was.

So he loosens his grip and takes a step back, then smiles and gestures to the soft red leather of the booth's bench. "After you."

"Always a gentleman." Itachi chuckles, sitting down. He looks around and smiles. "It really does look like a beautiful place." It was amazing how fast Shisui's mere presence had a way of making everything else fade into the background. He'd only known the man for a day and already, the Sasori incident was starting to feel more like a bizarre dream anything else.

"Isn't it?" Shisui's favourite part, apart from the wide spaces between the tables and row of booths, and the plants lining the tops of the booths, definitely had to be the windows and skylights. They made everything around them seem bright and warm and relaxing. It was like sitting in a forest clearing and waiting for your friends to finally catch up with you. "Like I said, lunch is on me, so order whatever you like. I do recommend the dango, but they've got plenty of sandwiches and salads that I bet you'd like as well."

"It is." Itachi nods in agreement, the place was beautiful. The only thing more charming than the surroundings was Shisui himself. "Alright. I'll just have a chicken salad and some dango then."

Shisui snorts softly and waves to the approaching waitress. "The usual, double the salad, and some of your mom's fresh dango, alright?"

The girl's cheeks turn as pink as her hair and she nods quickly. "A-alright." Her jade eyes flick towards Itachi. "And what would you like to drink? We have green tea, herbal tea, black tea, coffee, espresso, freshly squeezed juices, and soft drinks."

"Green tea sounds wonderful. Thank you." He smiles at her, noting that Shisui really was a regular. He knew the girl's mother?

Her cheeks flush again and she scurries away from the table towards the kitchen to fill the order. Shisui chuckles at the sight as he watches her run. "Try not to mind the blushing too much. Sakura's been like that for at least as long as I've known her. She's shy around new people, but she'll warm up to you and relax a bit once you get to know her."

"I don't think she's shy around new people so much as she's shy around you." Itachi shakes his head in amusement. He couldn't blame the poor girl in the slightest, but Itachi was reasonably confident that Shisui was gay. Even if she wasn't, she seemed like a teen with an afterschool job. Way too young for someone like Shisui. "She probably has a crush on you. It's cute, albeit a hopeless case on her part."

"Well, she does." Shisui wasn't an idiot, he knew that much. "But I don't think that you give yourself enough credit. She turned an even brighter pink when she saw who I was sitting with." So Shisui was pretty sure he knew what was going on. "I think she found the combined 'hotness factor' a little too much to handle. I've heard her gossiping with her friend Ino about it."

"Possibly. Teenagers do tend to get excited when the 'hotness factor' increases. I've heard my little brother's best friend talk about it on a few occassions." He chuckles, remembering Naruto egging Sasuke on. That they had to go to ice cream place together. "I really want to thank you for taking the whole incident so well, though. I know that must have been uncomfortable for you."

"Believe me, I've dealt with worse than a disgruntled ex." It was one of the hazards of traveling as much as he did. "In one of the locations I was shooting in a couple of year ago, I had a man demand that I marry his daughter because I accidentally walked in on her while she was having a bath." Shisui shakes his head, remembering the absolute hell the man had raised about it. "Luckily, Kakashi managed to get me out of there before the wedding preparations started, but it was a close call."

Itachi couldn't help it, he laughed at Shisui's rendition of the incident. "Yes, I imagine that would be most uncomfortable. It's a good thing that Kakashi was there or else this lunch date would not have happened." He smiles, deciding it was best to figure out Shisui's intentions now. He hadn't been scared off by Sasori. Something that was very impressive considering Itachi had been one or two breaths from having a heart attack when the red head showed up. "Don't you think?" He lowers his eyelashes. It might have been a bit cliche, but it was a flirtation that was unlikely to go unnoticed.

The corners of Shisui's lips turn up into a smirk and he reaches across the table to play teasingly with the ends of Itachi's hair. "Oh, so it's a date now, is it?"

"Well, you did scare my ex off and you kissed my hair." An action that Itachi was still struggling to classify as either flirtatious or platonic. "So, it certainly feels that way. I'm sorry if I misread your intentions."

Shisui weighs the options for just a moment before abandoning his teasing treatment in favor of cupping Itachi's chin and leaning across the table to press a soft kiss to Itachi's lips. "You didn't."

Itachi smiles, returning the gentle kiss. "Good. I confess I would have been disappointed otherwise."

"Good to know." Shisui presses one more kiss to Itachi's lips before sitting down in time for Sakura to arrive with a large tray of food for them. A foot long, three inch high club sandwich sat amidst the plate piled with dango and the watermelon-sized bowl of chicken caesar salad.

Sakura glances between the both of them, her cheeks an even rosier shade than before. "Please enjoy your meal."

"Thank you. I'm sure we will." Itachi sends her a charming smile, waiting until she was away to quirk an eyebrow at the foot long. "Well, if wasn't sure before that seems to be a rather obvious innuendo. I do hope you're not overcompensating."

"Are you saying that you want to find out?" Shisui raises an eyebrow in amusement as he reaches for one half of the sandwich. His earlier smirk tugs at his lips again. "Itachi, if you want to be bent over that nice desk of yours, all you have to do is ask."

Itachi blushes ten shades of red. "Possibly, but never on the first date. That, and I fail to see why you assume you'd be the one bending me over and not the other way around." He quickly grabs his tea and begins sipping. It was the perfect excuse to buy a few seconds to collect his thoughts.

"Because if I've learned one thing today…" Shisui takes a bite out of his sandwich and chews slowly, giving himself a moment to come up with the words. Then he swallows carefully and a wicked smirk twists his lips. "It's that you need someone to arouse your passion, someone who can make you throw caution and propriety to the wind and come undone. You need to be able to forget yourself and drown in your emotions." Shisui chuckles and looks Itachi directly in the eye. "And I figure that the best way to accomplish that is to bend you over and give you something to scream about."

Itachi almost chokes on his tea, but somehow manages to swallow. It was hard to imagine that Shisui had just said that and yet, he definitely had. That seductive smug look in his eyes was irrefutable proof of that much. "Mmm and are you entirely certain that lovely sexual psychology profile you just outlined for me isn't projection on your part? Perhaps it would be easier for me to drown in my emotions as I bent you over the desk instead."

"It's hard to focus on your lover's pleasure and drowning in your own at the same time." Shisui knew that from experience. "Try to imagine just being able to relax and drown in your own pleasure. Imagine how you would feel if everything around you was reduced to warmth and pleasure in the arms of someone that loves you." He wanted to evoke that sort of feeling in Itachi, the bliss that could be achieved.

"Well, I do have to admit you certainly have a way with words." Itachi swallows hard, trying to display the erotic images Shisui's elegant descriptions were conjuring in his minds. "It's not often that I discuss such preferences...on the first date with anyone."

"Then I'm flattered that you find me interesting enough to entertain me." Shisui laughs softly at the look on Itachi's face. His cheeks were awash in just enough light pink to make him look almost innocent. Almost. "If you have any more preferences you want to talk about, I'm more than happy to listen."

"Might be a bit early for that." He tries to will his blush away, knowing it was a losing battle. "What's that on your hand?"

"Hm?" Shisui blinks and looks down at his hand, seeing nothing. Then he looks at his other hand towards the faint lettering on his wrist. "Oh. I'm not sure. At first, I thought I might have gotten drunk with Anko and gotten a new tattoo, but it doesn't hurt at all, and it wasn't there yesterday, so I'm not entirely sure. I tried reading it, but the letters are a bit too faint to be read."

"That's strange. Maybe it's a bruise?" Itachi takes his hand into his own and looks at it curiously. "They are really faint. There's definitely an I and maybe an L though."

"Maybe it's a T?" Shisui stare at it a little longer, his eyes tracing out the three short words. "One looks kind of like a W, or an M, I'm not sure if that's right side up or upside down."

"Does it hurt?" Itachi frowns, looking at the letters. Very few things puzzled him to this extent.

"No, it's just…there." It didn't ache like a bruise did, or sting like a tattoo, Shisui had never hurt himself in that spot, so it wasn't a scar. It was too precise to be some sort of infection that he picked up while traveling. Plus, he was vaccinated against everything that you could be vaccinated against. A requirement of the intense travel that he did. "It just appeared this morning without any warning."

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it unless it gets darker or bigger." Itachi smiles at him, hoping to soothe Shisui. "It does make for a good conversation starter."

Shisui chuckles again and picks up Itachi's fork to dig it into the salad. Then he holds it up towards Itachi's mouth. "I suppose it does, but I'm not worried about a little mark on my skin. What I am worried about is that you're not going to enjoy the lunch I brought you here to have."

Itachi blushes, but decides to make something of a show of it by savoring the spoonful longer than necessary. His tongue gliding against the silverware. "I'm definitely enjoying it."

"Good, then I'll be sure to bring you here again before my next assignment." Shisui had long ago discovered that there was something special about food that brought people together. Even if a day started with a less than pleasant event, anything could be made just a little better by sharing good food with the right people.

He laughs, bestowing a kiss to Shisui's forehead. "You're a charmer, but you aren't half as slick as you believe yourself to be. I know that was your clever way of setting up a second date. You're lucky you're cute." Well, cute was an understatement. Still, it was probably too early to be really stroking Shisui's...ego.

"That's not a no. And you're the one who decided to call it a date." Shisui smirks smugly, knowing that Itachi was already hooked. "I don't think that you're as aloof and sneaky as you pretend to be."

"You're right. It's not a no and...there may be some merit to your theory as well." It was impossible not to be utterly enthralled by the man, Itachi decides. Shisui was so wonderfully warm and direct.

Shisui's smirk becomes even more smug. "I've heard that you're a genius, Itachi. But there's something that you should know." He leans forward and lowers his voice as he whisper it into Itachi's ear. "You're not the only one who knows how to poke around in people's heads."

"Oh really because so far it's mostly been my hair you've playing with." Itachi couldn't help, but laugh.

The smirk breaks in favor of an indulgent smile. "How can I resist?" Shisui pulls at Itachi's hair and runs the silky locks through his fingers. "You have the most beautiful hair I've ever seen, like a curtain of rich raven black silk. A goddess would be jealous of you, I'm sure." And not a word of that was exaggeration.

"You're on some crusade to make me blush constantly, I know it." Itachi looks away feeling his face burn crimson red. "Thank you, though. You have beautiful eyes." If Shisui was going to lavish him with compliments, he might as well respond in kind. He meant it, of course. There was something both soothing and sensual about the other man's eyes.

Shisui chuckles as those same dark eye warm with light and happiness. "Then I'll make you my crusade, Itachi." He rests his cheek against the silky hair still caught in his palm. "Jut watch and enjoy as I make you mine."

"You're rather possessive considering it's a first date." Itachi tilts his head as if considering in amusement. "Perhaps you fancy yourself more the dragon than the knight, after all. That's alright. I like fire, but I'm no damsel in distress."

"No, you're definitely not." Shisui gazes at the beautiful man before him, more than content to just soak in Itachi's presence. Shisui had toyed with the idea of soulmates before, a romantic idea that he rather liked. But he'd never put as much stock in the idea as he had today. Because…Itachi might just be it.


	3. Chapter 3

Reflections of Eternity

**Authors' Note:** Thanks for the views. We hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 3

Itachi chuckles as he finishes setting setting the table for Sasuke's visit. Of course, his little brother's idea of dessert was a little stranger than most. He preferred a tomato salad to most sweets. Still, he didn't mind indulging him. After all, it was Sasuke's first year in college. He should be indulged. Goodness only knows what sort of 'food' he was eating more often than not. Besides, it was a good way to kill time while waiting for the other man's arrival.

And within five seconds of the clock striking six, the front door opens and a dark-haired, dark-eyed teenager steps inside. Laden with a heavy backpack, he sets it down on the shoe rack to free up his hands to untie his shoes. "Itachi, I'm here."

"Good. Dinner's already on the table." Itachi smiles as he hears his brother's bellows. "I'm in the dining room."

Sasuke leaves his shoes in the porch and takes up his backpack to move into the dining room. His once slightly annoyed and surly expression softens as his gaze finds the spread of food laid out and waiting for him. His brother always had been an excellent chef. At least when it came to everything but eggs. "It looks good." And best of all, there was a huge tomato salad just waiting for him. It was almost enough to make him drool.

"I would hope so given how long it took to make." Itachi laughs as he sits down, gesturing for Sasuke to do the same. "So how is your first semester going?"

Sasuke seats himself and immediately pulls the salad towards himself. "The professors are moving slowly because everyone in class is behind on the readings." It was annoying, especially since Sasuke had already done all of the readings for the rest of the semester. "Discussion periods are annoying because no one bothers to learn anything. It would be better if I just talked to my professors one on one instead of listening to idiots go on and on about things that have nothing to do with the topic. And the questions…they're so stupid…" Sasuke could go on and on about how dumb his classmates were. It was honestly almost as bad as high school. "I hope half the class drops out before next week."

Itachi rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I see that you're not feeling particularly overwhelmed. That's always good. Is there anything you like about it?"

A soft huff escapes Sasuke's lips as he piles creamy chicken Alfredo next to the tomato salad on his plate. "…I've gotten a lot of interesting assignments so far. I mean, I doubt that anyone else is going to take them seriously but…they're pretty open-ended." And that meant that he finally had the chance to show his professors just what he could really do. "I just need peace and quiet so I can get them finished."

"I know that colleges can be loud." Did he ever. It was a miracle he hadn't gone deaf with Deidara living just down the hallway. That was one borderline psychotic Art Major. The irritating blond had always gone on and on about his own brand of 'art.'. "If you ever need a quiet place to study, you can come here." Itachi smiles at him. "I'm glad that the assignments are interesting. Try not to do what I did and overwork yourself, though."

"I know." Sasuke rolls his eyes and scoops up a number of tomato pieces with his fork. "Not all of us are trying to do a major in English lit with a double minor in business and journalism." Sasuke understood overachieving, but squeezing all of that down into less than three years just so that Itachi could use his fourth year to do two internships was just…insane. "I can learn from your mistakes."

Itachi pokes Sasuke's forehead. "Good. Speaking of mistakes, I had a rather...interesting day yesterday." That was putting it mildly. A psychologist would likely have a field day with him at this point.

Sasuke raises a quizzical eyebrow. "Did you trip over your feet at work, spill coffee on your boss, and end up promoted because of it?" Itachi didn't look particularly…upset, maybe flighty, but not angry or sad.

"No, and I'm not sure why you think I'm that clumsy." Itachi raises an eyebrow. Honestly, where did his brother get these ideas? "Sasori showed up unannounced at my workplace with...roses."

Instantly, Sasuke's gaze flares with an icy heat. "And just what did he want? To fuck you again after everything that he said to you the last time you saw each other?"

"He wanted to get back together. It made even more awkward by the fact that Shisui was with me." Itachi shakes his head. Oh boy, perhaps mentioning Sasori to Sasuke even now years later hadn't been one of his wiser ideas. "He wanted to get back together, but I politely dismissed him. Shisui threatened to sic security on him. He's one of our photographers."

"Shisui?" Sasuke's frown twists slightly, growing slightly less hostile and more confused. Where had he heard that name before? "And this photographer just happened to be around when you were being stalked by your crazy ex?"

"Well, he had been showing me some of his photos. Kakashi is on vacation this week, so I'm filling in for him." Itachi smiles with pride, his dream was coming true. "Afterwards Shisui invited me to lunch and we were on our way there when Sasori arrived."

Okay, not THAT was unexpected. "You were going to lunch with one of the photographers?" From what Sasuke knew of his brother's eating habits, which was a lot, Itachi usually ate lunch wherever he happened to be working on something. Or, if he was in the library on campus, he would either pick something up at the cafeteria or bring lunch from home and eat it in the library commons before heading into the no food zones. "Itachi, you barely ever go out to lunch with people unless you're working on a group assignment."

Itachi takes a sip of his drink and swallows before answering, needing a few seconds to come up with something to say. "I had skipped breakfast and he can be very...persuasive."

And in Itachi-speak, that meant… "You went out on a date with him." Sasuke knew the sorts of words that Itachi used to describe his lunch-mates, and persuasive wasn't one of them. "Since when were you dating again?"

"Since...yesterday, I suppose?" Itachi plays with his food. It was one thing to banter with Shisui, but telling Sasuke everything made him feel like a kid. "It wasn't my intention, but it just kinda happened."

It just kinda 'happened.' What had happened to his brother? Itachi never acted like this about someone he liked. Not unless… Sasuke rolls his eyes and rests his chin and cheek against his left hand. "Alright, so how hot is he, and how did he charm you into it?"

"Sasuke, I'm not that shallow." Itachi scoffs, his little brother had some crazy ideas about him it seemed. "The fact that Shisui happens to be exceptionally attractive is a nice bonus, but not the only thing about him that I find appealing." Wait. He shouldn't have said that. Itachi had just done the equivalent of dangling meat in front of a starving dog. Sasuke's interrogation was about to begin in earnest.

"So he IS hot." Of course he was. Itachi always had had a weakness for beauty, and no matter how hard he might hide it, Sasuke knew how vain Itachi could be sometimes. 'Is he taller than you? Another redhead? Or have you moved on to a different type, Itachi?"

Itachi rolls his eyes, better to just answer Sasuke's questions. He was an Uchiha and that meant there was determination coursing through his very DNA right now. "Yes, he's objectively gorgeous." Itachi shrugs, it wasn't as though he was the only one who preferred dating someone they viewed as attractive. "He's taller than me and not a redhead."

So very different to what Itachi had found attractive in Sasori. If that was the case, then Sasuke wondered just how far Itachi's search parameters has swung away from his ex. "So I guess this one's probably not a demanding asshole, then?" If he was, then Sasuke had some choice words for him.

"Sasuke, he took me out to lunch. He didn't propose marriage." Itachi chuckles, flicking his brother's forehead again. "It's a bit soon to say anything, but no at first blush he doesn't appear to be as demanding as Sasori."

Sasuke's lips curve into a wicked smirk. "Oh, I bet that you made that judgment at first blush. Just how much blushing did you do around this hot photographer?" The urge to tease Itachi was too strong, and honestly, it wasn't often that Sasuke got this sort of leverage over Itachi. There was no way that he was just going to forget about it and waste it.

He gives the mischievous college student a dirty look. "It's an expression, Sasuke. An expression. In any case, he asked for a second date." Kinda. More like he assumed it, but confidence could be sexy as long as it didn't blossom into full-grown arrogance. "So, we'll see what happens. I don't want you to traumatize the poor man with your mind games, though."

"You're my big brother. It's my job to traumatize your boyfriends." Especially ones that weren't good enough for Itachi. Sasuke had seen the fallout a year ago, and he wasn't going to let that happen again, not when things were finally on the right track. "Besides, if he can't handle it, then it just means he's not worth the time investment."

"I miss the days when the thing you wanted most in the world were a piggy back ride." Itachi groans, trying to think of any way to keep Sasuke and Shisui apart.

"And I miss the days when you were a better judge of character." But since Itachi had developed blinders, it was Sasuke's job to protect his big brother. Especially from people who wanted to tear apart Itachi's soft, sensitive heart.

* * *

"So, is this month's special issue looking spectacular, Itachi?" Kakashi's voice rings cheerfully through the office phone from several time zones away. "You were sent all of the pictures on time, right?"

"It's amazing. You're more punctual on vacation than when you're actually here." Itachi chuckles, shaking his head at the other man's antics. "Yes, everything was sent out on time and the photos are spectacular."

"I'm glad to hear it. Shisui's work never disappoints." He was an asset that Kakashi had never regretted picking up. "Has he shown his face at the office yet or is he still at his place sleeping off the jet lag?"

Itachi shakes his head, smiling at the memory of their lunch date. "He's shown up at the office, valiantly attempting to best jet lag. Though I did send him home early the other day."

"Good, he'll need the sleep before he goes out on his next assignment. I was planning on sending him to South America to collect some photos for a feature on hidden oases in the tropical forests." It was a trip that Kakashi had been planning for quite some time, in fact. "But since you've seen him, how about you tell me how he's doing. I know that last trip must have taken a lot out of him after covering nine freezing cold countries. I told him that he could take longer if he needed to, but he's always been an overachiever."

"I'm sure that he'd love that." Itachi finds himself frowning, trying to ignore a prickle of guilt over hoping Shisui wouldn't feel up to the trip just yet. "I'm free now. I could broach the topic with him if you like. He should be in the office just down the hall."

"If you wouldn't mind. And if he's in the office, I'd check the lounge first." Kakashi knew which rooms were Shisui's favourites. "I offered him his own office, of course, but he always argued that he was never here long enough to need one."

"Alright. I'll go check the lounge. Hang on." Itachi takes his cell with him as makes his way to the lounge only to stumble on a rather adorable sight. A sleeping Shisui. "I think the jet lag may still be getting to him...tsk. He's fast asleep."

"On the long black leather couch just under the windows?" Kakashi could already picture it. "Is one of the windows near his head open?" He knew for a fact that Shisui put off a lot of body heat and that keeping a window open helped him to sleep. The photographer always joked that traveling around so much made his metabolism go crazy. Maybe he was right.

That was creepy. "Yes, it is. You seem rather...familiar with his habits." Perhaps even intimately. Kakashi wasn't that much older than Shisui...and wonderful. Now, Itachi was already falling into the role of the jealous boyfriend before they even had their second date.

Kakashi snickers on the other end of the line. "Do I detect jealousy, Itachi? I didn't realize that you were already falling for our top photographer's wicked charms."

"Do I detect a distinct lack of professionalism, but how can that be when you're always such a model employer?" Itachi tries his best not to huff as he brushes some bangs out of Shisui's eyes. He was fast asleep and ridiculously endearing. His hair was far softer than it looked.

Shisui mumbles softly in his sleep, but just loud enough to be heard by Kakashi over the phone. "How about I leave you to assess his condition for a bit. You can call me later with an update. And whatever you do, don't give him anything sweet or caffeinated when he wakes up."

"Kakashi, you are far too young to be his father. You realize that, correct?" Itachi rolls his eyes at the advice. "I'll give you a call as soon as I have an answer out of him."

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." Kakashi snickers and the call ends with a soft beep.

"I love this magazine, but my goodness does it attract the eccentrics." Itachi chuckles as he sticks his phone in his pocket and runs his fingers through the slumbering man's hair.

The photographer smiles softly and leans into the gentle touches, seeking them out even in his sleep. A piece of swirling jade on a soft leather cord slides across his loose black t-shirt. Where the short sleeve of the shirt ends halfway down his left bicep, the swirl of a darkly-inked tattoo peeks out from beneath the dark cotton.

Curious, Itachi finds his fingers gliding over the unique design. "You do have exceptional taste." He smiles at the thought. Subtle, but elegant and very alluring.

A soft chuckle rumbles in Shisui's chest as he raises a hand and runs it along the underside of Itachi's wrist. "Thanks..." His eyes slide open and he shoots Itachi a sleepy smile. "I've got a few more of them, if you want to see. I collect them from my major trips."

Itachi feels his face heat at the invitation. "Speaking of major trips, when you're more awake Kakashi has a new assignment offer fro you." He does his best to give Shisui a stern look. "Though I'm not certain if you should take it if you're already falling asleep at the office."

"The Amazon, right?" Shisui was pretty sure that's where his next trip was slated to be. He sits up slowly and stretches his arms over his head. His shirt rides up just enough to reveal a bit more dark ink streaking up his side. "I'm fine for it, I just need a few more days of sleep before getting on a plane again, and I don't think I'm getting sent out again until next week."

"Yes, the Amazon. Well, if you feel that way about it...I'll call him back and let you speak to him about the finer details." Itachi tries to squish down the disappointment Shisui's answer elicited. Of course, he'd want to go. What nature photographer wouldn't?

Shisui tilts his head slightly, then snorts softly and turns on the couch just enough to pull Itachi to stand between his knees. His hands rest softly on Itachi's hips as he smiles. "Why are you looking at me like that, Itachi? You look like someone just stole your new puppy."

Sasuke was rubbing off on him too much, Itachi could already feel himself scoffing. "I believe you're still half asleep because I assure you that I'm not looking at anyone as though someone stole my puppy. I just worry for your health. Going from one climate extreme to another so quickly and with such little respite could make you ill quite easily."

"You sure about that, Itachi?" Shisui smirks and starts rubbing circles into Itachi's hips with his thumbs. "Are you sure that it's just because you don't want me to get sick? If I got sick over there and had to come back, I would need someone to nurse me back to health..."

That smirk should be illegal. Itachi could already feel himself going weak in the knees. "Yes, I'm certain. Besides, one doesn't need to actually be sick in order to 'Play Doctor.'"

"Oh really." Shisui slides backwards on the couch and leans back against the soft leather. His hands drop to Itachi's knees and he applies pressure right to the joints to pull Itachi forward to kneel between his thighs. He'd always been a person who liked to touch, and the distance had been driving him crazy. Now, Itachi was almost close enough to kiss. "Then how about you tell me how you would 'Play Doctor.'"

He feels his breath catch in his throat as hot desire cascades through the entire length of his body. "I'm not certain that this is the sort of conversation we should be having at work."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Shisui's lips curve further into an absolutely wicked smirk. "After all, that big fancy desk of yours looks like it has more than enough room to accommodate a little fun while you're in a meeting and in need of some immediate...stress relief."

"You wake up rather quickly when the remote possibility of intimacy is raised." Itachi could feel his face burning even brighter. "It probably is, but I've never been the sort that is good at not getting caught in those sorts of situations." He was too vocal. "I prefer to Play Doctor in private."

"So you're a loud one, huh?" Oh, this was just too good. "That's good to know. I guess it's too bad, but I can just keep the stress relief confined to when you're not in meetings." Shisui's left hand drifts from Itachi's knee and up his thigh. "But would you like that, Itachi? Would you like to sit in that big, comfortable leather chair of yours? Would you like to look down at me on my knees in front of you, swallowing you down and making you moan in every way that you can?" He was way out of line and he knew it, but Shisui was feeling reckless. And...Itachi had been touching him first.

He was going to need a cold shower as soon as he got home. "Do people in Hell want ice water?"

Shisui chuckles lowly and places a hand in the small of Itachi's back to pull him close. "I know what I'd like right now." With their lips only a breath apart, Shisui closes the distance and brushes his lips against Itachi's in a tease, and just enough to get a taste of the young editor's lips before laughing huskily. "What do you want, Itachi?"

"I want you to kiss me." There was something almost otherworldly about Shisui's ability to seduce. Never before had Itachi been so thoroughly entranced by the mere presence of someone else. By the promise of a kiss.

Shisui laughs again. "I can definitely do that." His fingers rise to wind themselves into Itachi's hair as he pulls Itachi flush against him and tilts his head up to fuse their lips together and gently probe the unexplored expanse of Itachi's mouth.

Itachi sighs in pleasure into the kiss, returning it. Feeling both soothed and aroused by the sensual gesture. The bliss of Shisui's kiss ensnaring all his senses. The rest of the world fading away.

Emboldened by Itachi's reception of the kiss, Shisui turns Itachi around and lowers him onto his back on the couch to increase his own leverage over the situation. Everything about Itachi exuded grace and a hint of sophistication, and it was those qualities Shisui most wanted to respect in him. Though of course there was still a part of him that wanted to mess Itachi up and take him apart, leaving him flushed and panting and wanting. Itachi would look glorious once his composure was gone, Shisui was sure. He runs his fingers through Itachi's silky hair. "You're so beautiful, Itachi."

"You're perfect." Itachi looks up at Shisui with lidded eyes. Perfect and familiar in a way that he couldn't quite articulate. He was drawn to the other man as if Shisui were the night sky and he was a star in it.

Shisui chuckles and brushes Itachi's bangs away from his cheeks. "My ego is touched by your heartfelt compliment." He presses a soft kiss to Itachi's neck, but not so soft that he leaves no mark there. No, Itachi had allowed Shisui to kiss him, and Shisui wanted to leave a temporary reminder of that fact.

His breath quickens as he closes his eyes in pleasure. "Mhm." It was so easy to forget everything but the feeling of Shisui's lips upon his skin, in one of his most sensitive places.

A hum of amusement passes Shisui's lips as he leaves a vivid red mark just below Itachi's jaw. A sensitive place, it seemed. That would definitely be good to know later. He presses one more kiss to Itachi's lips and smiles teasingly. "Did that feel good, Itachi?" He squeezes Itachi's hips and admires the wonderful flush to Itachi's skin. "Did you enjoy that?"

"Really good, but we should stop." His eyes trail over Shisui's form with admiration and regret. "Anyone could walk in and you really should call Kakashi." He needed to focus. Shisui was seduction incarnate, but Itachi wasn't about to give their coworkers a free show.

"I know." Shisui pecks Itachi on the lips one more time before letting him up. "Don't worry, I don't usually do sex before the second date. But I'm glad that I at least got to kiss you. It's everything that I thought it would be." Shisui smirks slightly. "At least the first one. I can't promise that I'll be this nice the next time I get you all alone."

"Such a chivalrous deviant you are." Itachi chuckles as he gets up and tries his best to make himself presentable.

"I do my best to please." Shisui reaches up to untie and rearrange Itachi's mussed ponytail. "But if you want to see me really deviant, I'm sure that I can think of a few ways to make that happen."

"Yes, you do seem rather fond of my desk." Itachi meets the other man's gaze.

Shisui's gaze darkens with promise. "Oh, I can think of a lot of things I want to do with you and that desk."

"I'm beginning to believe the desk is now my rival for your affections." Itachi shakes his head, kissing Shisui's cheek. "Though I'm certain you could think of many things."

"I don't think you'll ever need to fear a rival for my affection." Shisui catches Itachi left hand and presses a kiss to his fingers, his palm, then his wrist. "I have enough affection to smother you with as much as you want to be."

Itachi blushes, watching him curious eyes. "That's quite a declaration to make to someone you've only been on one date with."

"What can I say? I'm a romantic." Shisui glides a thumb along Itachi's cheeks. "And I enjoy watching you blush. You look best with a healthy glow to your complexion. It makes me happy to be able to put it there."

"I swear that I've blushed more within a week of meeting you than I have in the rest of my life combined." He lightly pulls Shisui's thumb into his mouth and sucks.

A dark heat races through Shisui's veins as he resists the urge to bend Itachi over the side of the couch and fuck the living daylights out of him. "Keep that up, and I'll give you plenty of reason to blush whenever you set foot in this building."

"You're rather sensitive if that motion elicits such a...passionate response." He pulls out his cell and calls Kakashi. "Kakashi, Shisui is awake."

Shisui plucks the phone from Itachi's hand and rolls his eyes. "Awake, and I'll call you later. Itachi is being a horrible tease and needs bending over something hard."

Kakashi chuckles on the other end of the line. "I'm glad to hear that the two of you are getting along so well. Try not to break him in too fast, I do need him to get some work done."

Itachi's eyes widen in disbelief. "I can't believe you just said that to Kakashi of all people!"

Shisui rolls his eyes as he ends the call. "If you think that Kakashi wouldn't sniff this out within an hour of getting back, you're not giving him enough credit. At least now he has time to process before coming back. He's less likely to embarrass either of us in public now." In private was another story, though.

"I suppose that's a fair point." Itachi crosses his arms trying his best not to huff. "Kakashi does have an instinct for all things erotic and romantic in nature."

"As I discovered to my dismay when I first started working here." Shisui remembered being single then quite clearly. "The last thing you want is Kakashi meddling in your love life. So if you give him reason to believe that there's no need for meddling, you've solved ninety-nine problems before you've even figured out the list."

"That's comforting." It was something at least. "Well, that's Kakashi. No more of your sexy shock value statements in front of our other coworkers."

"Alright, I'll leave that for when you're comfortable letting me kiss you in public." Shisui presses one more kiss to Itachi's cheek, then pats the editor's ass towards the door. "Now you get going on finalizing that issue. I worked hard on those pictures."

"It's already been finalized and somehow I doubt that is the only thing hard about you." Itachi flips his ponytail over his shoulder as he strides out of the lounge.

And oh...did Shisui ever love watching the feisty assistant editor leave.


	4. Chapter 4

Reflections of Eternity

**celestia193's Author's Note:** So...this chapter starts one way, then goes in a completely different direction. Enjoy the tub time!

Chapter 4

Shisui sighs with a wistful expression on his face as he stares into Itachi's office through the glass paneling of the wall. Seriously, how could the assistant editor make even paperwork look sexy? Shisui was sure that he would miss this view more than anything when Kakashi sent him out on assignment again. But hey, at least this time he would have all the reason in the world to send back some sexy summer pictures. Maybe Itachi would even choose to keep a few. And maybe he could snap a few to keep before he left on his next international trip.

Itachi's eyes trail over yet another piece of paperwork before signing off on it. Honestly, Kakashi had let it pile up for far too long. There shouldn't be this much paperwork to do at once. For goodness sake, he'd already gotten THREE paper cuts and he almost never got those.

"One down, a billion more to go." He sighs, swapping out his old pen for a new one. It was out of ink. He was going to kick Kakashi's ass for this. Professionally, of course. How that was possible, Itachi didn't know He'd find a way to do it though. Nothing was impossible when one truly put their mind to it.

Chuckling at the sight of the frustrated novice editor, Shisui grabs his photography bag and swipes a few extra pens from the secretary's desk by shooting her a playful wink as he strides towards the steaming pile of frustrated hottie. He slings his bag over his shoulder and knocks twice, then pushes open the door. "Battling the demons of paperwork in here?"

"You could say that and unfortunately, I think they may have the upper hand." Itachi looks up at Shisui. He looked entirely too pleased with himself. "Can I help you with anything?" What was he up to?

Shisui holds up his hands to protest his innocence. He could already tell by the suspicious look on Itachi's face that he was going to have to be subtle if he was going to be getting away with anything. "I just thought that I'd help you out with cutting through all of the paperwork." He places the pens down on the desk by Itachi's hand and hangs his photography bag over the back of the office's other chair when he pulls it to the other side of Itachi's desk. "How does that sound?"

Itachi tilts his head to the side in confusion. "You're…volunteering to help with paperwork?" Since when did adventurous photographers do that? "Well, that's unexpected, but nice of you." He looks through the pile, determining which forms were the most standard before handing pushing them on the desk towards Shisui. "Let me know if you have any questions." Instinct told him this didn't make any sense, but dammit, he'd like to get done with this paperwork sometime tonight.

"Then first of all…" Shisui rifles through the stack and pulls out about half the papers and sets them aside. "These are just standard forms that have been filled out and signed at least a dozen times. I know all of the information that goes on them, so I can just fill them out and you can sign off on them. There's no point in wasting time reading them again." He twirls a pen around in his fingers and his right hand sets to work while his left pulls a few more pieces from the stack in front of Itachi. "This section is for the marketing department, which means that you don't even need to look at them until they're all filled in. And these bits are for the financial office." He sets those aside and further reduces the stack by pulling out a thick stack of paper all stapled together. "And this one is the most annoying one, which is why it's going on Kakashi's desk with a big red sticky note on it."

Itachi blinks at Shisui's assessment. "You seem to have a lot of experience with paperwork. I'm just of the philosophy that one should always read the fine print…"

"Do you want me to recite the fine print for you? At this point, I think I could do it backwards if I tried hard enough." Some days, Shisui really believed that Kakashi should be paying him twice as much to be dealing not just with the photography, but picking up the paperwork slack whenever he wasn't off gallivanting around the world. "Kakashi hates paperwork and I work quickly."

"Right. Never mind then…since you're so familiar with the forms, just work through them at your own pace." He feels his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He had thought Shisui was a novice at paperwork, but apparently his skills likely exceeded Itachi's own.

Shisui chuckles and flicks his pen once as his hand races across the first and second pages. Regular permit information and lots of visa applications, all standard paperwork when sending photographers and journalists overseas. Even if the paperwork was technically Kakashi's job, so much of this was about Shisui's own travel arrangements, and the arrangements for all the other photographers and journalists, that he had to know all of the information by heart anyway. The permits…well he might have taken a few law classes on the side just for kicks. "So how are your paper cuts doing over there, Itachi?"

Itachi huffs at the question. "Well, I was thinking about asking if you wanted to join me for dinner since you were kind enough to help me with paperwork, but if you're going to mock my suffering, I shall have to think about it some more." Embarrassing. Shisui knew about the papercuts as well. This just wasn't his day.

"Oh, what suffering you inflict upon me." Shisui reaches across the desk and take Itachi's hand in his, then presses gentle kisses to the injured fingers. "At least I can help by kissing it all better." His eyes glimmer as he smirks against Itachi's knuckles.

"You're original. I have to grant you that." Itachi watches him with half lidded eyes. "I don't believe anyone has ever used paper cuts as an excuse to seduce me."

"Do I need to seduce you?" Shisui takes one of the injured fingers into his mouth and sucks lightly. "I do believe that when you called Kakashi, you were in the middle of seducing me with your charmingly wicked ways."

Itachi's breath catches in his throat at the gesture. "I believe you were the one that initiated that encounter. Still, a good seduction in private is always appreciated."

"That's good, but you really should take better care of yourself, Itachi." Shisui hums softly as he licks slowly along the length of Itachi's finger. "You wouldn't want to mar your beautiful hands permanently with silly little scars."

"Paper cuts don't leave permanent scars and besides, apparently I have you to protect me from such things." Itachi's eyes flicker with amusement.

Shisui smirks and releases Itachi's finger from his mouth, but keeps Itachi's hand pressed in his own as he leans his cheek against their joined hands. "I'd love to be your knight in shining armor, Itachi. But I kind of want to be the dragon that steals you instead."

"Will you still feel that way in the event you meet my very much overprotective little brother?" Itachi tries hide a blush that he knew was likely never going away around Shisui.

"You don't think that I'm a match for your little brother?" Shisui raises an eyebrow and reaches forward to twirl the end of Itachi's ponytail around his finger. "Are you issuing me a challenge, Itachi?"

"No. More of a warning. Sasuke is very protective." He shakes his head in fond exasperation. "I think it's mostly because of what happened with Sasori. Anyway, if the thought of my foolish brother doesn't make you tremble in terror, I might not be adverse to allowing a dragon to visit my lair tonight."

"Then I'll do my best not to tremble in terror of your own little terror." Shisui couldn't imagine that Itachi's little brother would be too much to handle. The kid probably wasn't even out of his teens yet. "Should I expect to duel him for your hand before whisking you away to your lair?"

"I wouldn't underestimate him. He is at the top of his class for a reason." Itachi chuckles, shaking his head at Shisui's reaction. "I'll do my best to protect you from him for as long as I can. That, and it has been a long day. I was thinking a bubble bath might be in order. Dragons are fond of water, aren't they?"

Now that was a promising way to end the evening, Shisui would never say no to a sexy bath with an even sexier editor. "Most dragons like to breathe fire, but this one won't say no to a nice…long bubble bath." He could already imagine it. Itachi soaking wet, his lips swollen and red, the definition of the muscles that he'd felt beneath his shirt, and a sharp v leading down… It was hard to resist the temptation to just bend Itachi over his desk right now and get a taste of dessert early. "You have no idea how much I want to see you right now…the paperwork scattered all over the floor, your hair tangled up in my fingers, and your cheeks all flushed as I make a mess of you all over your desk."

"You do have a way with words. I suppose it's only natural." Itachi places a gentle kiss against Shisui's lips. "They say pictures are worth a thousand words and you have taken many beautiful pictures. I don't know about you, but I'm heading home after I finish this paperwork. If you have no other pressing matters to attend to, you could come with me."

"I've only got one pressing matter today and it's all you." Shisui returns the kiss with a fierce passion, enjoying it for a brief moment before pulling away. "So what do you say we finish with the paperwork, dump the rest off where it needs to go, then get out of here."

Itachi sighs softly as his lips tingle from the wonderful kiss. "That sounds perfect." It was growing increasingly impossible to resist Shisui. So, Itachi was going to throw caution to the wind for once and see what happened. After all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

* * *

Shisui's arms wrap around Itachi's waist and he pulls the younger man close as the bathroom door closes behind them. He could still taste the white wine on Itachi's tongue, but none of the chicken or shrimp pasta that had accompanied it. That was fine, the white wine suited Itachi, it was light and refined, elegant but not stuffy. Shisui would forever associate the taste with Itachi. After tonight, white wine might just be his new beverage of choice.

He slows the kiss for a moment just to gaze down into Itachi's half-lidded eyes. "You taste so sweet, Itachi."

Itachi smiles at Shisui, leaning into the embrace. "You taste like every fantasy I ever had and some I haven't dreamed up yet." Still he reaches for the knobs behind him in the tub and turns on the hot water. "You did say you wanted to join me."

"You're right, I do." Shisui slides a hand up underneath Itachi's shirt and lifts it smoothly over his head and drops it in the small laundry bin by the sink. He glances down and his eyes light with desire. "Someone looks like they enjoy running." Smooth, lithe muscles, an easy grace, a runner's slender form.

"Well, I was on my university's track team." He shivers in anticipation under Shisui's appreciative gaze while turning around. Itachi slowly discards his pants, boxers, and socks with a graceful ease. A quick test of the water proved it was hot without being scalding. "Let's see how fast you can join me." Itachi throws a sassy smile at the man behind him before sinking into the water.

**Warning Lemon**

Shisui's eyes drink in the sight of a beautiful naked Itachi. "I think I'll just take a moment first to appreciate the work of art in front of me." He slowly reaches for the hem of his shirt and pulls it over his head, baring the pale ivory skin inked with curving tattoos up his left side and three more extending around and back over his shoulder. A pair of curling red lines meet on the smooth ball of muscle, stylized flames licking down from the red swirling piece like tongues of frozen fire, an inky black crow swooping down from his collarbone and over his shoulder blade. A Celtic knot tattoo and a welsh dragon pulse up his side from the cut of his hip and swirl up over his ribs.

But his eyes remain fixed on Itachi as he pops the button of his jeans and slides them over his hips, tugging down the dark fabric beneath and letting it all fall away. Shisui wasn't uncomfortable with his own nudity, it had been a long time since he'd been self-conscious about much of anything. But still, Itachi's approval was something he craved, something that he needed deep in his soul.

"They're beautiful tattoos, but I like the body attached to them even more." Itachi smiles looking up at Shisui. "I can see all those assignments did wonders." It was hard not to stare. His boyfriend was stunning.

"Do you now?" Shisui's eyes glitter with promise as he steps away from his discarded clothes and slips in behind Itachi in the miraculously large bathtub. Still, it was small enough that it was best to be friendly. Shisui was good at being friendly. "Then all of those mountains I've climbed and canyons I've rappelled into were good for something after all." He shamelessly pulls the tie from Itachi's hair and watches with fascination as the silky locks cascade across Itachi's back.

"Mhm and I still think you're obsessed with my hair, but I suppose we've all got our kinks." He leans back against Shisui, sighing in contentment at the hot water lapping at his body and the warmth of Shisui's skin against his own.

"What can I say, you have the most beautiful hair I've ever seen." And that was saying something, coming from a photographer who'd traveled where he had. "So it suits you well, even if I still want to see your pristine image tousled and mussed and thoroughly pleasured." His hands glide over Itachi's skin and settle on Itachi's hips, leaving his fingers to splay across Itachi's stomach as his hardening cock settles against Itachi's ass just beneath the growing layer of fragrant bubbles.

"Well, it's rather HARD not to be flattered by such praise." Itachi smiles, enjoying the erotic embrace. "I'll admit that it's been a while since I was any of those things, but you do make it sound extremely tempting."

"That's good, I like the idea of tempting you, seducing you, as much as I like you falling so willingly into my arms." Shisui leans in and lays soft, lingering kisses along the curve of Itachi's neck. One hand drifts down beneath the bubbles to tease Itachi's inner thigh, though his wrist brushes against the indisputable evidence that his carefully picked words were all the right ones. "I'm really looking forward to seeing you come apart for me, Itachi."

Itachi lets out a series of soft moans at the feeling of Shisui's lips against his neck. Shisui's alluring words and touches light a fire in his blood. "It's a beautiful insanity really. How much I want you." He groans at the seductive brush against his arousal.

"The most beautiful insanity." Shisui shifts his touch and wraps his fingers around the turgid shaft standing proudly between Itachi's thighs. He uses a foot to turn off the taps, knowing that overfilling the bathtub would be a horrendously bad idea. But then he rolls his hips a fraction against Itachi and bites back a groan by biting down on the curve of Itachi's throat. He hums against the soft skin there as he moves his hand up and down, exploring the feel of Itachi's cock as though it belonged only to him.

Itachi gasps at the bite. He hadn't expected it, but there was a certain primal sensuality to the action that had his pulse quickening. Though perhaps that had more to do with Shisui's possessive strokes. Either way, it was enough to make him moan and shudder against the other man. "Yes, the most beautiful."

Shisui's eyes glimmer with want, with need as he nibbles along Itachi's neck. "You have what we need here?" He didn't fancy the idea of getting out of the water to grab supplies. Of course, if Itachi wanted to go without, Shisui was fine with that.

"Mhm." Itachi sighs in pleasure at the nibbling, lightly squirming as he leans over and reaches into the cabinet underneath the sink to pull out some lubrication and condoms. "Thanks to your habit of trying to frisk me in the faculty lounge, I had a pretty good idea as to what size to get you." His eyes glimmer with mischief as he returns back to his former position with items necessary to recommence their sexy bubble bath.

"Are you sure about that?" Shisui smirks wickedly as he takes the bottle and squeezes a clear blue gel onto his fingers. He spreads his legs a little wider to create a place for Itachi to kneel against. "Turn around. I want to see the pleasure in your eyes as I'm making love to you."

"Positive." Itachi turns around, facing Shisui as he wraps his arms around the other man's neck, licking his ear. "Normally, I would have quite the spirited discussion or sexy game of tug of war over who should be the more...assertive partner in this situation, but you did such a good job playing with my dick that I'll skip that step this time." He tugs on Shisui's earlobe with his teeth gently. "Because mostly I just want to watch you cum."

Shisui's gaze heats with unrepentant lust as he darts a finger down to Itachi's ass and presses it inside. "So that's how you want it, huh?" He'd expected Itachi to be just as eloquent in bed, or in the bath, as he was in the office, but…hearing how he could use that dirty mouth of his made Shisui want to find other uses for it as well. His fingers dig into Itachi's hips and he grinds against him, HARD. "Are you sure that you can take all of this, Itachi?"

Itachi groans at the contact as he feels white hot lust cascade through his body. "I'm sure. I'll admit that it's been awhile." He places a series of soft kisses along Shisui's shoulder, nipping lightly. "So, ideally this is how I would envision the rest of the evening unfolding." He smiles releasing the other man's shoulder in favor of kissing along his jawline. "First, we begin with a slow and sensual lovemaking and then once we've both become more...accustomed to one another, we can fuck each other's brains out. Does that sound agreeable to you?" His hand slides against Shisui's arousal.

"Mhm." Shisui would have come up with something a little more articulate, but the moment that Itachi had put his hand on Shisui's cock, he'd been a goner. He thrusts a second finger inside of Itachi and reaches for that spot deep inside of him. "You're so fucking beautiful Itachi…"

Itachi stifles his moan by capturing Shisui's lips in a heated kiss. "As a photographer, I imagine you're quite the expert on all things related to beauty." He squirms and moans as he feels his new lover's intimate touches brushing over the sensitive place that sends fire racing through his veins. "I hope your expertise does extend into fucking as well."

Shisui shoves a swift jab up inside Itachi. "It definitely extends to fucking you." He was learning quickly enough that he has no doubt that he would be able to learn Itachi inside and out with ease. "Tell me, are you a screamer Itachi?"

"Fuck!" He hadn't been expecting that sensual barrage. "Yes!" Though if he hadn't been before, Shisui sure as hell would have been well on his way to turning Itachi into one.

A wicked smirk stretches across Shisui's face as he inserts a third finger to stretch Itachi wide. "How much will you scream my name when my cock is balls deep inside of you? When I'm making you fuck yourself on me with no option but surrender?"

Itachi writhes against Shisui as much from his words as his sinfully erotic touches. "As much as you want me to." Another strangle groan escapes from his lips. "Just stop teasing me." He'd always enjoyed intimacy, but it was never this euphoric madness before. He was so close, but so far away at the same time from what Itachi was certain would be a mindnumbing release.

Shisui buries his cock deep inside Itachi. He couldn't even remember taking out his fingers, sliding on the condom, or pulling Itachi further into his lap to press his lover's neglected cock between them and rub it between their heated bodies. His brain could only process the unrelenting heat of Itachi's body and the way his lover's body squeezed him tightly, as though he would never let Shisui go again. "'Tachi…" Shisui groans softly and buries his face in Itachi's neck.

Itachi moans and rolls his hips experimentally. The feeling of being joined with Shisui was leaving him breathless and desperate for more. Maybe that was why caution was soon cast aside as Itachi rocks against his lover desperately, moaning at every sensation. His words little more than a frantic plea. "Don't stop."

As commanded, Shisui thrusts up and the water sloshes around them as he flexes his hips and drives himself slowly into his beautiful, irresistible lover. He captures Itachi's lips in a kiss and groans as he swallows Itachi's heady moan. His back presses against the sloping edge of the bath and he uses the leverage to lend power to his passionate thrusts.

Itachi returns the kiss. It felt as though his body and soul were set aflame by the most wonderful kind of fire. "Shisui!" One that he couldn't resist, even if he wanted to. And he didn't, he has no desire to resist the flames burning their way through him. It was far too easy to surrender to the bliss spiraling throughout his body and to scream Shisui's name again and again as the force of his orgasm strikes him like a tsunami.

Shisui thrusts again, again, again, driving Itachi through the orgasm as the water clouds with cum. "Itachi…" Shisui's eyes gleam with fiery desire and purest love as he grips Itachi's hips and looks up into those soulful black eyes. The knot low in his belly burns with the need to release. So he retakes control of the kiss and plunges his tongue deep into Itachi's mouth, making love to him in every way he knew how. And when the burning knot inside of him pulls taut and snaps, his climax races through him like a raging wildfire, consuming his mind and body and soul. Itachi was consuming his whole being.

**End of Lemon **

Itachi sighs in pleasure at the kiss, returning it with equal fervor. His heart pounding and his breath coming in short, satisfied pants, Itachi didn't think his body and mind had ever been so...at peace with one another. "I think I love you."

And Shisui didn't know why, but he agreed. It was so strange. He hadn't known Itachi for long, and yet…it was as if he'd known Itachi forever. "I think I love you too." He presses his forehead to Itachi's shoulder, smiling even as a tear drips down his cheek. "I don't know how or why, but…I do. I really do."

Itachi smiles, brushing the tear away. "Good. I feel the same way. Though the water is going to get cold. Perhaps we should continue this in my bedroom?"

With the tear gone, a smirk returns to Shisui's face. "Oh, we're definitely continuing this in your bedroom. Because I'm nowhere near done with you yet." And honestly, Shisui didn't think he ever would be.


	5. Chapter 5

Reflections of Eternity

**celestia193's Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay lately, things got a little crazy between work and home stuff, so there hasn't been a whole lot of time to sit down and write, or sit down and update things. Hopefully that will change in the days to come. Enjoy the sexy fluff and the double update coming your way.

Chapter 5

Shisui turns onto his side, his body achingly sore from the activities of the night before. As a photographer, he had gone across the world to see many a beautiful sight before. And yet not a one could compare to those that he saw last night.

Last night, when Itachi had taken him to bed and ridden him hard, ridden him like his life depended on it. Last night, when he'd thrown those strong legs over his shoulders and driven Itachi into the mattress. Last night, when Itachi had screamed his name until his voice had gone hoarse and he could no longer do anything but surrender to the onslaught of pleasure that Shisui had dedicated to him.

His fingers reach out slowly, softly running through that silky hair that his hands had become quite familiar with last night. Every part of Itachi was a work of art, and Shisui liked being able to grab hold of each and every piece. A smug smile curves his lips mischievously as he strokes his sleeping lover's hair. "I knew that I would love seeing you all messed up."

"Mmm…your hair fetish is a little odd, but I can't really argue with the results." Itachi's eyes flutter open, his voice little more than a whisper. Mostly out of necessity. The assistant editor doubted he could have coaxed anything more from himself even if he tried. "What time is it? It is Saturday, right?" He could only hope that was the case. Itachi didn't fancy leaving the bed anytime soon. He'd call in 'sick' if he had to. Something he'd almost never done. In fact, Itachi could count on one hand how may times he'd played 'hooky' in his life.

"Yeah, it is." Shisui chuckles softly and presses a kiss to Itachi's cheek. "And you know you love it when I play with your hair." Even when he played a bit rough, if last night was any indication. "How are you feeling?"

"Good and perhaps I enjoy indulging you." Itachi smiles. He certainly reveled in the attention. It might sound vain, but he was used to people complimenting his looks. He knew that he was attractive, but the reverence Shisui lavished him with was different. "I feel like I don't want to leave the bed anytime soon." He places a soft kiss against Shisui's lips. "You don't have to worry. You didn't hurt me. At least not in a way that I didn't like. I'm not as fragile as you think I am." His eyes shine with a teasing light.

"Oh, I know that you're not fragile." Shisui smirks and slides a hand down over Itachi's hip. "You took everything I had to give so beautifully." And if he could take Itachi again, he'd turn that beautiful man over and do it again. "Though I'm still looking forward to breaking in that fancy desk of yours by bending you over it."

Itachi could feel his cheeks heating up despite everything they had done the night before. "If you've got a thing for desks, I have one in my study. I don't think it's particularly wise to engage in such things at the office." Kakashi had already called while they were in the middle of some heavy touching...it was a miracle they hadn't been caught as it was.

"That's what makes it fun. Besides, that's what locking the door is for." Shisui pulls Itachi close and nibbles softly on his ear. "And I promise that I'll close the curtains so the rest of the office doesn't get too much of a show."

"You could tempt a saint to sin. You know that, right?" Itachi shivers at the feeling of Shisui's teeth against the shell of his ear.

"Isn't that what I just did?" Shisui chuckles and rolls over onto his back, pulling Itachi to rest on top of him. "You're such an angel, but you've done such dirty things with me. In the bath…against the wall…all over your bed, I think we could add the kitchen counter and the couch to that list."

Shisui definitely lived to make him blush. "Well, it is HARD to deny that you do raise some very valid points there." He places a soft kiss to Shisui's shoulder. "There's still difference between doing that here and at work." Itachi allows himself the privilege of gliding his fingertips down his lover's muscular chest. Relishing the warmth and power he found there with every touch. "The couch is quite comfortable and counter-tops are new. So, they should be up for a challenge..."

The muscles of Shisui's chest ripple under Itachi's fingers as he takes a long, slow breath. "Good, after all the weekend's only just begun. We've still got plenty of time to…fuck each other's brains out, as you so eloquently put it." Oh did Shisui ever love Itachi's dirty mouth.

"Did I go overboard with that part?" Itachi looks up at him, his expression half embarrassed and half hopeful. "I'm aware that is something of a hit or miss thing to introduce into such...activities. You did seem to rather enjoy it at the time..."

Shisui's lips curve into a lascivious smirk and his eyes gleam wickedly. "Itachi, you never have to apologize for having a dirty mouth. It's so different to how you usually talk, but it's definitely a turn-on."

"Oh, good." Itachi rests his head on Shisui's shoulder, indulging in the comfort of being close to his new lover. "You just have a way of evoking such reactions from me." The way he made Itachi feel was almost impossible to articulate, but apparently the less refined part of his vocabulary was more than willing to try.

"And your reactions evoke very fun reactions from me." Shisui's fingers card through Itachi's hair, stroking the strands and massaging his scalp. And on his wrist…the letters had darkened again. Three words, that much was still very clear. Stay…with…me? "Hm…"

"Is something wrong?" He looks at Shisui with open confusion upon hearing that hm sound. 'Hm' wasn't a standard afterglow reaction.

Shisui smiles and presses a kiss to Itachi's forehead. "It's nothing to worry about. I was admiring your hair. It's very pretty, you know."

"I'll always worry about you even if I'm growing accustomed to your fixation on my hair." Itachi shakes his head, snuggling against Shisui. "I wouldn't be much of a lover if I didn't care."

"I think that if you can forgive all the tattoos, forgiving my fixation should be easy." Shisui knew that the art wasn't for everyone, and for someone with skin as perfect and flawless and unmarked as Itachi…having a lover so decorated must have been quite the change.

"Mmm the art flatters you. I imagine it'd be hard to find something that didn't, though." He kisses Shisui's cheek, his eyes scanning his lover. Trailing over the tattoos, searching for anything amiss.

"Then I'm glad that you're fond enough of it that you're willing to humor me." Shisui smirks into the kiss as a hand sinks to caress Itachi's ass. "Like how you humored me by submitting so beautifully to me last night so that I could make love to you, then fuck you thoroughly."

"I do have to commend your stamina. It must have a difficult time keeping up with that wonderfully filthy mind of yours." Itachi breaks the kiss with a smile. He didn't know what it was about Shisui exactly. He was gorgeous, charming, and now, Itachi knew just how physically compatible they really were. Still, it wasn't like him to invite someone to his bed, or his bathtub but they had eventually made it to the bed, so easily. "I know this sounds crazy and it's so early in our relationship, but I meant what I said."

"And even though it's just as crazy and way too early…so did I." Shisui didn't understand why, but it was like…Itachi was the missing half of his soul that he'd never known was gone. "It almost feels like…I've been waiting for you my whole life."

"I think you might very well be the most romantic deviant that I've ever had the pleasure of coming across." Itachi chuckles, smiling. "You did say you could stay the whole weekend, right?"

"Yeah, I've got nothing that needs doing." Shisui smirks and squeezes one of Itachi's cheeks. "Nothing but you."

"Good. You know I had a roommate in college who was a massage therapy major..." Itachi arches into Shisui's touches. "They may have demonstrated a few techniques to me."

"Oh?" Now that did sound intriguing. Massages were a fairly regularly prescribed activity for Shisui to deal with the grueling physical activity that his job entailed, but he'd never been offered a massage by a lover before. "And were you a good student to your roommate?"

"I like to think so. They seemed impressed at any rate." He snuggles against Shisui. Yes, he was going to have an impossible task by the time Monday morning rolled around and he had to pry himself from the serenity of his lover's arms. "Thought it might be something you'd like to try."

Shisui's chuckles rumble through his chest. "I am never going to say no to you doing sexy things with me, even if I have to just sit there and take it."

"Well, that sounds highly promising." Itachi nips at his ear. "I don't think I would make you sit for such things, but it's good to know how open you are to different positions."

Gentle fingers brush Itachi's hair back from his face as wild thoughts race each other through Shisui's head. "I think that you'll find I'm definitely flexible on that. So if you ever feel like there's a day where you want me handcuffed and face down, just say so."

"You have my attention. Perhaps I should invest in handcuffs in the near future." Itachi laughs, his eyes filling with mischief. "For now, though why don't you be a good Shisui and grab us something to eat. There should be plenty in the kitchen. Surprise me."

"Yes, Your Highness." Shisui plants a swift smack to Itachi's rear before slipping naked out of Itachi's bed. If this were his own place, he wouldn't be bothered to put on clothes to go out to the kitchen, but he's more than fine with stealing a pair of Itachi's pajama pants to fetch his lover some food.

* * *

Shisui stretches his arms up over his head as he strides half naked down the hall and into the kitchen. With his ability to cook, he should be more than capable of throwing a few things together and bringing them back to feed to his lover.

What he was not expecting was to see a teenager with raven black hair and ivory pale skin setting a couple of books down on the kitchen counter. He looked so familiar, so like… And then it occurs to him. "…Sasuke?" He looked so much like Itachi, he had to be the little brother Itachi had mentioned before.

Sasuke blinks. Itachi had mentioned Shisui. He just hadn't thought his brother would already be at the clothing sharing stage of the relationship. That was serious. It was also a little disturbing. He wasn't a naive kid anymore. Sasuke Uchiha was fully aware of what that meant. "Yes and you're...Shisui, right?"

First things first, he needed to confirm the target's identity. The next step was to terrify him into submission and then, he could proceed with the interrogation. He was not going to allow another Sasori situation to happen on his watch.

Shisui relaxes and smiles, despite the scrutiny on him. "Yeah, I am. It's nice to meet you." He steps past Sasuke towards the fridge and opens it up, peering inside to take an inventory of food. "If you're looking for Itachi, he's a bit indisposed right now, but I can definitely let him know that you stopped by." He pulls a carton of eggs, some peppers, a large tomato, some bacon, and a small pack of sausages from the fridge.

"I can see that." Sasuke surveys his every movement. It looked like Shisui was actually going to try to cook. A classic romantic then maybe. "I'll start with the basics. You break my brother's heart, I break your dick." Sasori had gotten off easy because he had been halfway across the country. Itachi had gone away for university.

Shisui looks over his shoulder as he places the items on the counter next to the stove. "I can respect that. But I have no intention of breaking Itachi's heart. If I did, you'd be welcome to punish me as you see fit." He reaches for a carton of milk and places it next to all of the other ingredient before pulling out a pan, oil, and a mixing bowl.

"Good because I didn't need your permission to do it." He watches as Shisui continues making...something. Whatever it was, there looked like it was going to be a meal and not just a snack. "It's not like him to get attached this quickly." Sasuke almost couldn't believe their relationship was already this intimate. "So I guess he must see something special about you." Then again, the same could be said of Sasori and there had been no happily ever after in that tale. "Why are you with him? You're a photographer. So, I hope it isn't just because of his looks or I"ll have to kick your ass. Itachi doesn't really do the fling thing."

Honestly, it still wasn't entirely clear to Shisui either. "Well, he's definitely beautiful, I'll never deny that." Shisui snickers as he sets the pan to heat and drizzles oil into it. Then he cracks the eggs and whisks them together with salt, pepper, and milk. "And he gets so annoyed and amused with me whenever I play with his hair, he says I have a fetish. But…really, it's just…" How could he possibly describe it in mortal words. "Itachi feels like…all of the pieces that I never knew my heart was missing."

Well, the hair thing was weird, but then again Itachi did have nice hair. Still, the last part was sappy enough it was probably true. "Good. I guess it's a good sign he's already got you whipped enough to make him breakfast in bed." This was…a lot easier than Sasuke had expected it to be. He'd expected a little bit of resistance, at least.

"Oh, he's had me whipped since the moment I saw him when I walked into the office with my project portfolio." In that moment, Shisui's heart had been irrevocably stolen away. And he was perfectly fine with that. He takes the mixture of eggs and milk and pours it into the pan, then sets about cutting up the vegetables, bacon, and sausages. "I never knew that you could fall in love so quickly."

"Good. I hope you keep it that way." Sasuke tilts his head. "Oh and just so you know, those pants are on inside out. I can see the tag. I should probably go before Itachi wakes up." Sasuke rolls his eyes at the thought. He knew exactly what Itachi would try to do. He'd try to 'protect' his new boyfriend. Bull. Sasuke was only doing what he was supposed to do. "Just remember, I will break it if you don't live up to all that."

Shisui turns and considers Sasuke for a moment, then smiles and reaches out to ruffle the teen's hair. "Alright, it's a deal. I promise that I'll take care of your big brother for you."

"...Oh come on, my hair is nothing like Itachi's other than the color." Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"And the look on your face was way too serious." Shisui chuckles fondly. "Try to lighten up a little. I know that people are annoying to you at this point in your life, but try to enjoy yourself a little more. You're starting to get frown creases between your eyes."

"It's creepy that you're looking that closely. You know that, right?" He raises an eyebrow, confident that Shisui was just making that up about the creases. "Anyway, I'm going to get going. Itachi's probably wondering what's taking you so long."

"Maybe. Though I think he's fine with waiting a little longer for an excellent breakfast." Shisui tips the cut up vegetables and meat onto the layer of lightly cooked eggs, then he takes one half and flips it over to seal the edges of the omelet. "But I promise that I'll tell him you stopped by."

"Probably better not to. I'll just call him. He'll get embarrassed as hell about me walking in on all that." With that little gem being delivered, Sasuke slinks off and closes the door of the apartment quietly behind him.

Shisui shakes his head and turns back to the cooking omelet on the stove. For everything that Itachi had said to warn him about Sasuke, the kid really was more bark than bite. He was cute and Shisui could see why Itachi loved him so much.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, a large plate holding two fully loaded omelettes and a tower of buttered toast precedes Shisui into the bedroom, accompanied by a fresh pitcher of orange juice. He'd taken longer than he intended, but he was more than satisfied with the breakfast he'd made for his lover. "I've returned."

"You're definitely going to spoil me at this rate." Itachi smiles, reaching for the orange juice. His throat was still a bit hoarse. "If the photography ever gets dull, you can always become a chef. This does look amazing."

"I did consider going to culinary school, but photography snatched me away." Shisui sets down the plate of fluffy omelettes and picks up a fork to cut out a piece, revealing the vibrant colors inside. "Open wide." Shisui holds out the forkful of food for Itachi's indulgence.

Itachi shakes his head in disbelief that Shisui was actually feeding him in this way, but he decides to humor him. Taking a bite and groaning when he does. "Wow."

Shisui holds up his phone and snaps a picture of Itachi's nearly orgasmic face. "If I knew that this was going to turn into food porn, I would have brought a recording camera."

"Shisui!" He growls, reaching for the phone. "Delete that picture!"

"Never." Shisui presses his lips to the photo, then taps the phone against his cheek. "I want to remember that face forever. It's like there's nothing you can do that isn't attractive."

Itachi glowers, he'd find a way to delete the picture later. "You better not show anyone else..."

"Of course not. This one is going to go in my private collection." And it was a collection that Shisui would defend jealously. He holds up another forkful of omelet and smiles. "Now eat your breakfast, I know that you love it."

"You're lucky that you know how to make an exceptional omelette and that I don't have handcuffs on my person at the moment." Itachi shakes his head, taking another bite of the delicious meal.

"Then I look forward to the day that you do find yourself holding a pair of handcuffs." Shisui presses a kiss to Itachi's forehead, then spoons a section of the second omelet onto a piece of toast to eat for himself. "I'm sure that we'll have lots of fun with those."

"I'm sure you do, but I will teach you who wears the pants in this relationship." Itachi huffs as he takes another bite of his breakfast.

Shisui's gaze softens affectionately and he runs a hand along Itachi's side. "Okay, I look forward to it." He leans across the plate to plant a chaste kiss on Itachi's lips, then leans back an takes a bite of his omelette on toast. "I'm sure that you'll rock my world like no one else when you decide it's your turn to have your way with me."

Itachi returns the kiss and smiles. "I most certainly will. I'll just have to find those handcuffs..."

Shisui chuckles and runs a few gentle fingers over Itachi's cheek. In his eyes, lights of love and care dance and glow. "What did I ever do to deserve you, I wonder…" He must have saved a nation in a past life to deserve this wonderful man who had welcomed him into his home, into his bed, into his heart.

"Well, for starters you are a fantastic lover." Itachi leans into the caress and against Shisui as much as he could, relishing the soothing and sensual contact. "You also took a lot of pretty pictures for a magazine and made me breakfast in bed. Those are all points in your favor."

"Then I suppose this means that I should do my best to take pictures of an equally beautiful subject?" Shisui's eyes gleam with eager delight as his gaze flickers over Itachi's half-concealed, yet naked form. "For my enjoyment only, of course."

Itachi lets out a sigh comprised of fondness and exasperation in equal measure. "You are quite...determined. I suppose to some degree I set myself up for this situation given your vocation." His boyfriend was a photographer. It was only natural. "Perhaps one or two photos might be agreeable as long as they aren't particularly obscene." After all, Shisui would eventually be going out on assignment again...

Shisui chuckles and plants another kiss on Itachi's lips. "Alright, we can save the naughty ones for later. I've already got a few in mind that I really want to take."

"Why do I get the impression I have just given you an inch and you intend to take a mile?" He kisses back, watching Shisui with mock suspicion.

"Oh, I intend to take several miles." Shisui was not one to do something halfway, and that extended from his photography to his lovers. "But I promise that you'll enjoy it every step of the way. You'll be pampered and relaxed and all you have to do is just…sit there and look gorgeous. I doubt that's a hardship for you."

Itachi shakes his head, wondering what he had just gotten himself into. "Well, there is no denying you do wonders for my ego."

"Oh, I can do wonders for a lot more than just your ego." Shisui smirks as he wraps his lips around the end of a sausage and nibbles on it slowly. Itachi was so easy to tease, so easy to rile. It was as adorable as it was funny. He would miss this when he was sent off on another trip to photograph hidden places in the Amazon.

"Freud would have a field day with you." Itachi playfully scoffs.

Shisui hums suggestively around the sausage before biting into it and chewing it slowly. His throat muscles work smoothly as the slightly spicy piece disappears inside. "Then I'm glad that I care more about what you think than about Freud."

Itachi waits until Shisui swallows before pinning the other man underneath him. "Whatever am I going to do with you and that sassy mouth of yours?"

"Kiss me?" Shisui smirks as he tosses the partially eaten food onto the platter and pushes it away. "Or I guess you could probably find a way to put it to even better use."

"It's HARD to imagine a better use, but I'm sure I'll think of something." Itachi captures Shisui's lips with his own.

Oh, and Shisui was sure that Itachi would. But for now this was definitely a much better use for his mouth. The rest of breakfast could wait a little longer. Having his lover in his arms would always be more important. Always.


	6. Chapter 6

Reflections of Eternity

**celestia193's Author's Note:** Sorry that this chapter took so long, lots of personal stuff going on that had to be dealt with, leaving very little time to write, and very little motivation when we DID have time. But the storm seems to be clearing, which means...we bring you a juicy lime! Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Itachi had been trying to get some work done, but there were pros and cons to having your boyfriend work in the same building as you. The pro was Shisui was in the same building and that was good because Shisui was gorgeous and a very, very good kisser. The con was...Shisui was in the same building and ready to distract Itachi for any reason at any given moment. Sometimes for no reason at all.

"Five minutes." Itachi was helpless against those puppy eyes of Shisui's. Today was apparently one of those no reason at all days. "After that, I really have to get back to work." He smiles, brushing his lips against his boyfriend's.

Shisui pouts slightly, but all he really needed was to get started. He could keep Itachi distracted a lot longer than five minutes once he had an in. "Alright, alright…" He capture Itachi's lips with his own and presses his lover against Itachi's own desk as he fits their bodies closely together.

"Mmm you're annoying sometimes." Itachi returns the kiss, allowing himself to be placed against his own desk. "Being such a good kisser and so ridiculously adorable when you pout like that."

"I aim to please." Shisui chuckles huskily and seizes hold of Itachi by his gorgeous ass. Really, he wanted to see if he could convince Itachi to let him fuck the beautiful assistant editor over his fancy desk.

"You always do." Itachi moans quietly and wraps his arms around his boyfriend's neck to pull him closer. "I'm afraid you'll have a HARD time convincing me to fulfill you're little desk fantasy, but I'll give you something to think about while I get work done." He briefly breaks the kiss by tugging on Shisui's lower lip before capturing the sexy photographer's mouth in a more heated kiss.

Shisui smirks and seals Itachi's lips shut as he pushes a hand up into Itachi's hair. He grips it gently, but firmly, and uses it to hold Itachi there and silence his awful teasing. Speaking of hard, he could definitely feel Itachi getting a little harder. So he slides his leg between Itachi's thighs to increase the friction just enough to tease mercilessly.

Itachi groans into the kiss. Shisui didn't fight fair sometimes. He could only retaliate by using his tongue to more thoroughly seduce his boyfriend.

A pleased rumble echoes in Shisui's chest as he twines his tongue with Itachi's and tugs on those soft raven locks. He really did love the feeling of Itachi's hair between his fingers. So soft, so supple, like silk through his fingers.

It was impossible to hide his moans or not to lean into his lover's touches. Never before had he had such a hard time exercising restraint. With Shisui, such things fell away so quickly.

The corners of Shisui's lips turn up as he ravishes Itachi's mouth with his tongue. All was well, even if he would be leaving very soon for his trip to the Amazon. He had a day and he intended to spend it with his lover for as long as he could. He holds Itachi tightly in his arms, drawing in the taste and scent of the man he had fallen for so quickly and so deeply.

When had it happened? Why? What did it mean…? Shisui didn't know, but like hell was he going to let anyone rip them away from each other. Going on a trip for work was one thing, but he wouldn't allow anyone to steal Itachi's heart from him. Or their time together while he was still here with Itachi in his arms.

There was a knock at the door and Itachi blushes as he wiggles free of Shisui's embrace. "Sorry, forgot I had a meeting. I'll see you when I get done. I promise." He smiles and places a soft kiss to his lover's forehead. "Okay?"

Shisui smirks and glances over his shoulder as the door begins to open. He smoothes down Itachi's hair and presses a finger to his lips, then ducks down beneath the large, fancy desk. After all, it would cause quite a bit of office gossip if he were caught in such a compromising state with the assistant editor.

Itachi sighs. Well, hopefully Shisui wouldn't be found under his desk. He was certain the entire office knew they were dating now, but he'd never live that down. Shaking his head, he answers the door. "Please come in."

The door opens and Konan strides into the office, her heeled boots clicking softly against the floor. "Itachi, I presume that your work is going well?" An amused smile plays about her lips as she places a folder onto Itachi's desk. "Or at least well enough to go over the final arrangements for the publishing of this issue?" She sits opposite him in the guest chair on the other side of the desk. "I thought that beginning in the eastern Arctic and traveling clockwise around the map would be a bold choice. Begin in the European and Russian north, into Asia and Indonesia, Australia, Africa, then South America, before returning here to North America and ending once more with the Arctic."

"It's going beautifully and of course, I have time." Itach shoots her a polite smile. He liked Konan, but Shisui could be so damn distracting. "That sounds like a fine idea to me. I really love what you've done with the layout." He glances over the folder's contents more carefully.

"Yes, I hoped that you would. And I agree that putting the stories against their respective backdrops will not only save space, but provide a more exciting experience to the readers." Truly, Konan was proud of the initiative that Itachi had shown with the initial designs. "I thought that we might try a collage-like arrangement for the initial pages to showcase some of the photos that weren't selected as primary backdrops."

Unbeknownst to Konan and beneath the desk, Shisui smirks and places his hands on Itachi's knees as he slowly moves them up Itachi's thighs. For too long he had wanted to risk being caught at the office, and now was the perfect opportunity to test Itachi's much-loved self-control.

"A collage sounds like a wonderful idea." Itachi lightly swats at Shisui's side with his foot, forcing himself to smile at Konan. "There were so many beautiful photos. It was difficult to choose which ones should be selected for the primary ones."

Shisui easily endures the swat and allows his hands to travel higher as he wedges himself firmly between Itachi's thighs, letting his shoulders hold Itachi's knees apart. It was lucky that the desk's cavity was so large, or he would have seriously risked being seen. Slowly his hands crawl towards the fork of Itachi's legs as he rubs his way up slowly.

"I agree, Shisui's work is truly inspiring." Konan chuckles softly. "Now, we've chosen to add four extra stories into the selection by popular vote thanks to the space you saved by arranging the stories and photo-spreads together." She turns the pages within the file to reveal some photos by another of their photographers, taken in the peaks of the Himalayas, the Andes, the Rockies, and the Alps. "We've added stories featuring civilizations among some of the most famous mountain ranges in the world, as well as a small section on popular winter sports."

Itachi tries swatting again, hoping that his blush hadn't been noticed by Konan. Why couldn't Shisui behave himself? "That's wonderful. I'm glad that we've saved so much space and those all seem like fine selections. You've really outdone yourself Konan. Well, I think that should be everything?" He could only hope it was. Shisui was feeling frisky and he couldn't every well do more than swat him without attracting his colleague's attention.

**Warning Lime**

Shisui barely resists the urge to laugh as his fingers work to unzip Itachi's pants and pull his silky boxers down just enough to extract his lover's cock from within the confines of the beautiful, but slightly annoying material. And he was more than a little pleased to see that despite Itachi's annoyance with him, he was still half hard and only getting harder. He pulls Itachi out completely and weighs the lightly throbbing cock carefully in his palm, allowing his fingers to massage Itachi's balls ever so softly.

"I promise that we're nearly done." Konan takes back the file and opens it to the back page, where the editorials were to be found. Hers was already included, as was Kakashi's. "All we need now is for your editorial page to go in the back, as well as the short biography I asked for since this is the first special edition since you joined us. It's only right that we finally introduce the newest member of our executive staff."

Itachi bites back a groan as he tries to will himself to focus and not to squirm too much. That would only arouse Konan's suspicions. "Of course. I'll prepare a short biography. I'm really touched that you wish to include that in this edition. I'm not entirely sure what I'll have to say in the biography, but I'm sure I'll think of something."

"Then I'll expect it in my mailbox by the end of the day." Konan smiles and rises to her feet with the file. "And Itachi, do try to relax." She steps away from the desk and turns as she strides to the door. From her purse, she extracts a Meeting in Progress door stub. "I'm sure that you and Shisui have much business to attend to." She smirks as she steps through the door and closes it behind her, hanging the door stub on the way out.

"Do you think she knew...or was that a general remark?" Itachi feels his heart pound in his chest. Fuck. That had been too close.

Oh, she knew, Shisui knew that for certain. "You were obvious, Itachi." Beneath the desk, Shisui snickers and takes the head of Itachi's cock deep into his mouth not long after the door clicks shut. He'd been waiting to do this for days, and now that Konan had left, there was nothing to stop him from giving in and making Itachi truly squirm. And the best way to do that now was by kneeling at Itachi's feet and sending him on a short trip to high heaven.

"I was not-" Itachi was about to protest further, but the rest of his words were swallowed by the feeling of Shisui's mouth around his cock. "Fuck!" How was he supposed to properly scold his lover when he was teasing him to insanity.

Shisui presses forward insistently, swallowing eagerly around Itachi's cock as he nuzzles into Itachi's lap. He so loved the sound of Itachi's curse and strangled groan. There was truly nothing like the sound of Itachi losing himself to pleasure, and it was made all the more sweet by Shisui's knowledge of Itachi's reluctance to give in at the office.

Hot. He was hot. Far too hot. The urge to yank off his clothes was powerful, but Itachi refrains if only just. "If you keep that up I'm going to cum." He didn't know which was the worse alternative. Doing so and risking leaving obvious evidence of his encounter or not and going crazy. There were no cold showers here and how the hell did Shisui ever manage to do that with his tongue. Fuck.

Dark eyes gaze upwards, Shisui's face adorned by an almost angelically innocent expression. But the wicked gleam in his eyes dispels any notion of innocence. For a sadistic laugh burbles in his throat as his tongue works along Itachi's length and he relaxes his throat to swallow deeply around Itachi's throbbing cock. Despite Itachi's words, Shisui knew one thing for a fact. Itachi would never forgive him if he didn't finish him off.

The expression and exquisite seduction was too much for Itachi. He couldn't have held back even if he wanted to. "Shisui!" That was the only other warning he gives before surrendering to his release.

With no hesitation, Shisui swallows down every drop, leaving little evidence of their encounter at all as he licks up the softening length of Itachi's cock and then carefully tucks his lover back in. He licks his lips and rises up on his knees between Itachi and the desk, laughter obvious in his gleaming eyes. "You look beautiful when I've just made you cum, Itachi."

Itachi's face burns with embarrassment as pleasure swims in his veins. "Smug bastard. I told you not in the office! You're lucky I love you and you got me off..."

**End of Lime**

Shisui's expression softens and he leans up to press a kiss to Itachi's cheek. "Yes, I am so very lucky that you love me." He takes Itachi's hand and kisses his wrist. "So very...very lucky..."

"And now you are trying to get back into my good graces in hopes that I won't banish you to the couch." Itachi huffs. If Shisui truly thought that he was going to allow him to get away with such mischief without being suitably punished or at least some exceptional groveling, he clearly didn't know who he was dealing with.

Perhaps, but Shisui felt that his motives were much purer than that, despite his earlier actions. "If you'd like to banish me to the couch, that's fine. But if that's so, then I would like you to join me on the couch tonight." For he left in the morning and would not be home again for some time. "I want to spend today and tonight together." At least until he had to go home and finish packing his bags, then catch his early flight out to South America.

"You're fortunate your trip is coming soon. I may reduce your sentence to extreme groveling." Itachi shakes his head, wrapping his arms around Shisui's neck and pulling him into a deep kiss. "Impress me."

Impress him, huh? Shisui could do that much. He presses his hands to the arms of Itachi's chair and leans up into the kiss, taking proper advantage of it as he draws Itachi into a filthy, searing kiss. His blood lights with passion and love, dampened by nothing, not even his impending assignment to the Amazon. For into that kiss, he pours everything in his heart and everything that he is, enchanted by Itachi like no one else. For no one in the world could compare to this.

* * *

Itachi sighs as he fiddles with his set of keys trying to find the right one to his apartment. Normally, such a task would be as easy as breathing, but nothing was simple anymore. Not when merely summoning the courage to drive home after witnessing Shisui's plane take off had sapped him of well, everything.

It shouldn't have been that difficult to see him off. Their relationship was still so new and Itachi knew it was for work. Shisui's profession meant as much to the devious man as his own job meant to Itachi. That didn't make it any less of a gut punch, though. Itachi borderline stumbles as he thrusts open the door only to release a very loud groan.

"Sasuke, what on Earth are you doing here at this hour?" It was almost midnight, for goodness sake.

Dark eyes pin Itachi with a level stare as Sasuke closes up his textbook. "Shouldn't the question be what's kept you?" He'd been waiting no less than three hours, expecting his brother to be home any minute. But judging by his brother's state, it wasn't staying late at the office that caused this mess to be made of Itachi. "You were with him again, weren't you?"

"Sasuke, you're far too young to be our father." Itachi chuckles, coming closer. He couldn't resist messing up the other man's already unruly hair further just to annoy him. "Yes, I was with him. I was seeing him off. Shisui just left on an assignment. So, I dropped him off at the airport. Does that meet with your approval?"

Sasuke grumbles and bats Itachi's hand away, then runs his fingers through his messy hair to straighten it out in the futile battle to control it. "That depends on whether or not he's being an asshole to you." Sure, Sasuke had met Shisui once before, but appearances could be deceiving. Sasori's certainly had been. "Because if he is, I swear that he's going to regret ever putting a finger on you."

Itachi's expression soften. Sasuke could present the image of a porcupine when his fur was ruffled, but deep down his heart was in the right place. "I appreciate your concern, Sasuke. Truly, but I'm a grown man. If something is amiss, I will not hesitate to send him packing in a far less kind way than I did tonight."

"It took you a year to send Sasori packing." So Sasuke felt like he could be forgiven if he didn't entirely trust Itachi's judgment. His big brother had much too kind a heart, one that needed protecting. "Though I did catch him making breakfast for you over the weekend." At least he wasn't walking in on it this time. "He looked like he was getting…cozy here."

"With Sasori we were both just overwhelmed college students." Itachi crosses his arms, trying his best to swallow a huff that was blooming in his throat before the rest of Sasuke's statement sinks in. "You know you're always welcome in my home, but try not to traumatize someone who hasn't done anything wrong." He shakes his head. It was both touching and moderately disturbing the lengths to which Sasuke would go to 'protect him. "Yes, he made me breakfast because he's an old fashioned romantic in some ways." And a deviant in others, but Itachi didn't feel it was necessary to inform Sasuke what had transpired in his office.

"Well I did think that he was being a classic romantic, but he still needed to know what would happen if he fucked with your feelings. I'm your brother, it' my job to traumatize your boyfriends." If he didn't do it, who would? "Besides, anyone who can't stand up to me doesn't deserve you. Sasori was just lucky that you two were across the country and I was still in high school." Sasuke hadn't really had the option to go flying across the country to terrorize Itachi's bad boyfriend.

"Yes, I suppose that Sasori did get off rather easy in that respect. One day, I'll return the favor, though, Sasuke." Mischief dances in his eyes at the thought. "We'll see how you care for such tactics when the shoe is on the other foot and I interrogate your lovers instead."

Sasuke's eyes narrow at the all too eager look in Itachi's eyes. It reminded him of the look in Shisui's eyes when he'd caught him making breakfast like a starry-eyed fool in love. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Apparently I'm too much of a bastard to risk having someone actually falling in love with me."

"Oh there is someone out there for everyone, Sasuke. Besides, I know that's just your defense mechanism. Those pretty eyelashes will win someone over." Itachi smiles. Mission accomplished. He had successfully changed the topic. "Can I get you anything?"

"Maybe an explanation for why you've been sporting doe eyes and why you looked depressed when you walked in." Sasuke couldn't believe that Itachi was really that upset over his boyfriend going out of town for a bit.

"I do not 'sport doe eyes.'" This time Itachi doesn't bother to mask his huff. "As for the rest of it, of course I'm feeling a bit down. Anyone in a healthy relationship would miss their significant other when they have to leave for an extended period of time."

Extended period? Sasuke frowns slightly. That…didn't sound like Shisui was leaving town for a weekend, or even a week to hang out in another state. "Where's he gone?"

"To the Amazon. He's a photographer." It was something he'd just have to learn to live with. Shisui wasn't wired for a 9 to 5 desk job.

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. That…didn't sound like the dedication of someone who would toss Itachi away when he got bored. Sure, it sounded complicated, but…that took dedication. Sasuke could respect that much. The problem was…could Itachi handle it? "And…you're fine with him running off to another continent for a month?" Or more…

"It's a trip of a lifetime and it's for his job. I can hardly begrudge the man for making a living." He wraps his arms tightly around himself, trying to ignore well, everything that question inspired in him. "I can't say that it'll be easy, but there are people who go longer without seeing each other and still make the relationship work."

That was true, but that didn't mean that Sasuke liked the fact that Itachi would be alone for weeks or months at a time. But…he supposed that if they couldn't make it work, then it would just prove that Shisui wasn't worth it. And if they did make it work… Well, Sasuke would reserve judgment on that until he saw them actually survive a couple of separations. "Sounds like it's more trouble than it's worth. What do you see in him?"

"Sasuke, why do I feel as though I am in the midst of a peculiar combination of the Spanish Inquisition, a trial, and a job interview?" Itachi arches an eyebrow at his brother. Really, things with Sasori hadn't ended as he had hoped, but this was...taking things rather far. "I suppose I may as well answer your question, though. Once you set your mind to something, you're incredibly stubborn." Annoyance and fondness pepper his voice in equal measure as he meets his little brother's gaze. "There is the obvious. Objectively, few would argue that he isn't gorgeous. He's also intelligent and exceptionally passionate about his work. He has an amusing sense of humor." Alright, it was a lewd sense of humor, but why quibble? "The man practically chased Sasori away himself. He can obviously cook and he can actually discus both trivial and intellectual tops of conversation."

Admittedly, Sasuke had only let Shisui out of being interrogated because the man had given him no quarter and because he really hadn't wanted to hang around when he knew his brother was naked and waiting for his lover to return. There were just some things that Sasuke didn't need to see. But he still needed to know that Itachi's heart wasn't going to be broken again. "So do you love him?"

Itachi sighs, Sasuke was like a dog with a bone. There was no dodging this question. "I know that logically, it's still early. We haven't been together very long, but love isn't logical. It just is. Yes, I love him."

His brother had it bad, then. Sasuke had never seen Itachi with the sincere look in his eyes that he held now. It was…almost unsettling. "Alright, fine. But if he breaks your heart, I'm castrating him." Sasuke stretches his arms above his head and cracks his neck. His dark eyes flick over his brother, then narrow slightly as they fix on where a smudge extends over Itachi's wrist. Oh shit. "Please don't tell me that the two of you have gotten matching couple's tattoos."

"I'll keep that in mind and I'm sure he will as well." He rolls his eyes at Sasuke's antics, only to frown at the anxiety laden in his brother's voice. Itachi's eyes follow where the other man's had landed and he blinks. "No, we didn't get matching tattoos. I never got a tattoo. This is bizarre."

Sasuke frowns and peers at the smudge, only for it to look…faded, like he was seeing it through frosted glass. It could be some kind of bruise… Oh, shit. "You know, Itachi, I get that you're in love and your head's in the clouds, but if you're going to be doing shit like that, at least keep it covered up unless you want your whole office to know."

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Sasuke." Itachi snorts in disbelief. Honestly, what sort of question was that? "We did nothing of that sort, but it does make me wonder what sort of fascinating items might be hiding in your browser history."

A tinge of pink touches Sasuke's cheeks, but he holds his gaze steady. "My browser history would horrify you, I'm sure. I've done a lot of research into how to kill your older brother's significant other."

"Uh huh. Well, there's no shame in having exotic...preferences." Itachi shakes his head. It was probably better not to inquire too deeply into this rabbit hole. "Just be safe. If you're into that sort of thing it ranges from playful to...well, not. Anyway, have I passed your interrogation?"

"You have." Though Sasuke supposed there wasn't much point in not calling it an interrogation. "The jury is still out on your photographer. Don't think that I'm done with him yet."

"Should I be jealous? Sasuke, I saw him first and he is a bit old for you." Itachi shakes his head. His brother was beyond stubborn.

Sasuke's face flames bright red and he shoves his textbook into his bag, then slings it over his shoulder and gets to his feet. "I'm not interested in your photographer, Itachi. But if you want to be jealous, that's on you." He slips past Itachi and nearly bolts for the door. "But if he hurts you, he's a dead man. Got it?"

"Yes, Sasuke, I do believe that message sunk in sometime after your threats entered the triple digits in number." Honestly, what was he going to do with him. "I'll be careful."

If they were only in the triple digits, then maybe Sasuke wasn't trying hard enough. "Just be careful, Itachi." Because despite his threats, Sasuke didn't actually want to resort to murder in order to save Itachi. Getting caught would suck. "Night." He opens the front door and slips outside, closing it firmly behind him as he disappears in search of his dirt-bike in the garage.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay? It's late and now that the theatrics are out of the way, I wouldn't mind the company." Itachi follows Sasuke outside. "And I'll be careful. I promise."

Sasuke glances over his shoulder and up over the railing. He knew that he should probably get back to the dorms, but…he could just shoot a text and let them know he'd be back tomorrow. "Alright, I guess so." He slides his hand along the railing and climbs back up the stairs towards the open door. "But if I find any used condoms laying around, I'm out of here."

"Yes, your browser history must be fascinating indeed." Itachi snorts as he guides the other man back inside. "You've turned into such a little deviant lately. Honestly."

"Yeah, yeah." Sasuke rolls his eyes and hangs up his bag. "Not as interesting as your boyfriend's, I'm sure." Because while Itachi was fairly proper, he highly doubted Shisui was equally innocent. Of course, that would only make it all the more difficult for him to successfully threaten Shisui into submission.

But Sasuke swore that he would find a way.


	7. Chapter 7

Reflections of Eternity

**celestia193's Author's Note:** Sorry that this one took so long. There was a lot of stuff going on irl and needed dealing with, then stress just kind of took over. But things are looking up now, so we bring you...sexy Uchiha boys! But you already knew that. It's what you come here for after all ;) Enjoy the show. Shisui did.

**Silver's Author's Note:** Sorry for the wait and we hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 7

_It didn't suit him. The grimace on his face. The other ninja had always been so cheerful. It was a rare instance when Itachi could recall his best friend not smiling outside of battle and yet, he looked for all the world as if the entire fate of the Leaf Village rested on his shoulders and his alone. Sadly, that was almost accurate. Almost. Itachi was still here. "There has to be something we can do."_

_The young man beside him is silent for a moment, then lowers his head into his hands and sighs. "There is. If I use my eyes…I could place them into a genjutsu and stop the coup. I could save everyone, but it would mean stripping the elders and clan head of their free will. Your parents, Itachi…could you forgive me for violating their minds that way?"_

_"It would save their lives." Itachi tries to blink away tears that were welling up in his eyes. "I do love them, but they're all blinded by their pride. If they have their way, it doesn't matter who wins. A trail of blood and bodies will follow and Sasuke is so little." It could trigger another Great Ninja War all too easily. "He only just learned how to use a fireball jutsu." An impressive feat especially for a child his age, but it would be a miracle if he survived a war like the one that was building just beneath the surface. Underneath the illusion of peace. "I can't lose him. I can't lose you. If a Genjutsu can save us all...then that's what needs to be done."_

_A pale hand grips Itachi's, entwining their fingers and lifting the hand to bring it to the young man's mouth. He presses a delicate kiss to it and smiles sadly. "Then that is what I'll do. But Itachi, I promise…no matter how this may turn out, you will never lose me. If I have to, I will find you again in the next life, or the one after that, or whatever comes next. I will find you. Because I will love you forever, Itachi."_

_"I love you too, but what makes you think that I wouldn't be the one to find you?" Itachi forces himself to smile despite everything. He could spend the rest of eternity just staring into those eyes. He always had such beautiful eyes..._

**BEEP. BEEP. BEEP!**

Itachi awakens gasping for breath, his heart pounding like a jackhammer against the pavement as his alarm goes off. "It was just a dream?"

He frowns still trying to calm his almost inhumanely swift heartbeat as he hits the off button. It was nothing short of a miracle the damn thing didn't break from the sheer force of the action, but Itachi had more pressing concerns. "Why couldn't I remember his name?" He'd clearly loved whoever was in the dream and even more disturbing, he glares at his arm. Those markings were growing darker. "Maybe I should see a doctor." Because despite what Sasuke said, Itachi would damn well remember if he got a tattoo or was engaging in exotic enough acts of intimacy to result in...whatever was on his arm.

The marks had begun appearing a couple of weeks ago, shortly after Shisui had left for the Amazon. At first, they'd been light, almost like he'd accidentally smacked his wrist against his desk, which had happened a few time in moments of distraction. But rather than healing, they had steadily begun to grow darker, as though injected with tiny bits of ink each night as he slept. And yet, it couldn't possibly be a tattoo, no matter how much it might resemble blurry words.

Itachi bites his lower lip as he stares at the strange marking. This was now bordering on alarming. He was definitely going to call the doctor's office after breakfast. He shakes his head at the thought as he quickly dresses and turns on his phone. It was Saturday, but in general he knew it was better to have it on than not. One never knew what metaphorical fires might need put out at the office...

And immediately, a little jingle plays as a notification for a text message with photo attached pops up on the screen. The ID reads Shisui Suzuki.

The image was as sexy as it was endearing, Itachi muses as his eyes trails over the photo of his boyfriend with appreciation. Shisui's hair was a chaotic, alluring mess of raven curls and when paired with his sleepy expression it was frankly adorable. There was also the fact he was shirtless...and already sporting his trademark grin. "It should be illegal to look that good in the morning."

Like what you see, gorgeous?

You know that I do.

There was a time when he would have gotten flustered or tried to control Shisui's well-deserved smugness, but Itachi didn't see the point anymore. Not after that stunt Shisui had pulled in the office. Konan was never going to let him live that one down.

After about a minute and a half of silence, the phone jingles with another incoming text message.

Oh, good morning there, gorgeous. I wondered when you were going to wake up.

Different time zones. It's a lovely image to wake up to, though. How are things in the Amazon?

Hot, sweaty, there's a lot of groaning involved. And don't blame timezones for wanting to stay in bed, dreaming of me. ;)

Dreaming...had he been dreaming of Shisui? He hadn't seen the other teen's face.

I see that your time in the jungle hasn't diminished your massive peacocking tendencies. Perhaps someone is a tad overconfident. ;)

Don't lie, Itachi. You love it when I flash you my feathers.

I never said that I didn't. Merely that you may be a tad overconfident. It's been awhile since I've seen your plumage in person...

Another minute passes without the arrival of an answering text message. A second minute passes, then a third. Finally, an icon with Shisui's face on it flashes across the screen, an accept and a deny button both accompanying the incoming video call.

"He wants a video chat?" Itachi snorts in amusement. Clearly, the sexy photographer was up to something. "Alright. Might as well see what you're up to now." Itachi sits down as he hits accept.

Shisui's grinning face is the first thing to hit the screen, and he chuckles softly as he runs his fingers through his curly hair and brushes it out of his eyes. "Hey gorgeous, are you still missing me?"

"Of course, I am. Though that is somewhat muted after discovering what a morning person you are." Itachi watches Shisui, a sly fondness intertwining with his every word. "Still, I miss you horribly anyway. My bed is a lot colder these days..." It was a bit humiliating to continue reaching for someone that wasn't there while he slept.

"And mine is too hot. Maybe we should trade." Shisui winks suggestively, then readjusts the phone so that his entire bare torso can also be seen. A light sheen of sweat gleams on his now softly tanned skin. "I think I got too used to having a living icicle snuggled up to me and now my body can't regulate its own temperature."

"I am not a living icicle!" Itachi huffs, but his protest was made far less convincing as Shisui decides to show off his shirtless state. Fuck...when had the act of sweating gotten that sexy? "And that's cheating...when I'm arguing with you and then you go and emphasize the fact you're half naked to distract me."

"Who says I'm only half naked?" Shisui adjusts the phone again, pushing its stand back along the rocks on the edge of the water and filling the corners of the screen with the scene around him. A small lake stretches out behind him, complete with a small cascading waterfall spreading ripples across the lake. As a photographer, Shisui always knew how to pick the most beautiful spots for candids and special photo alike.

Itachi feels his mouth run dry at the tantalizing sight. It was like something straight out of an erotic fantasy novel. "Now, you're just being an evil tease." That and Itachi was rapidly developing a brand new appreciation for the sensual connotations of waterfalls and lakes due to their newfound association with a very naked Shisui.

"It's only a tease if I just sit here and do nothing for you." Shisui's lip curve into a sly, wicked smirk. And though he knew that Itachi's first unconscious morning habit was to get dressed for the day, even if he had nothing to do, he could work with that. "Now come on, Itachi. I know that you don't have work today, so why don't you just relax a little?"

"W-What did you have in mind?" Between Shisui's smirk and the implication of his words, Itachi had no idea how he managed to be even semi coherent. He could already feel his cheeks heating up. He'd never done anything akin to what his boyfriend was suggestion. Itachi had always either been intimate in person or not at all. This was uncharted sensual territory.

**Warning Lemon**

Oh, this was going to be good. Shisui knew how to push Itachi's buttons, but how well did Itachi know how to press his own. "Put your phone on your bedside table, Itachi, facing the bed. Then, I want you to get your favourite bottle out of the top drawer and put it next to the phone."

Had anyone other than Shisui asked that of him, Itachi's immediate response would have been no. He finds himself following his lover's instructions, though. There was something compelling about the smug satisfaction dripping from Shisui's voice that was impossible to ignore. "Alright. I've got it."

"Good. Leave it on the table, you'll need it later." Shisui's gaze heats with a hint of the deep, insatiable desire he held for Itachi. "Now, take off your shirt, slowly."

Itachi undoes the each of his buttons one by one. Slowly, but surely exposing more and more of the skin hidden underneath the innocent fabric. The primal need in Shisui's eyes was more than enough to make his pulse race and his pants to feel far tighter than they should have as he ever so slowly and carefully slips out of his shirt.

Shisui watches quietly as the fabric fall away from Itachi's skin. He could remember the taste so vividly, when he would press kisses to Itachi's throat, then slowly lick his way down the sensitive flesh to where his prize lay. "Mm…Itachi, you remember…the night before I left, I showed you just how sensitive your nipples are. You nearly jumped out of your skin when I first bit one. But you moaned so sweetly for me when I did it again."

"I remember." Itachi nods as the occurrence dances across his mind's eye with all the grace of a siren. It was a memory that was embedded deep in his psyche. How could he possibly forget something like that. "What about it? You can't do that now." He toys with the waistband of his pants, debating on whether or not he should just yank them off now or later.

"You know, if you're going to be difficult, I might just tie you to the bed when I get home and keep you locked up for a nice long weekend." Shisui's eyes dance with heated promises. "Now be good and play with them for me. Slow, inward circles, just like I showed you, just like when I had my lips over one, and my other hand busy slowly spreading you open for me."

"That sounds more like a promise than a threat." Itachi smiles, but he could feel his blush heating with every lewd image Shisui was painting for him. He hesitates for a few seconds before tracing featherlight touches along his nipples. Inward circles just as Shisui as had done, goosebumps dancing along his skin as he remembers everything.

"Good. Now close your eyes and feel the warmth in you skin, the way I can heat you up with just a touch." Shisui' voice drop into a soft, husky growl. "You like to pretend to be aloof, but I know how much you crave my attention."

He was definitely a moth drawn to the flame that was Shisui. Without thinking about it, Itachi closes his eyes. It was all too easy to feel that warmth spreading across his skin. "Mhm. I like it when you growl too."

"Yes, you do, don't you? And you like it when I put you on your knees and leave bite marks on your neck." Shisui chuckles darkly. "So proper in public, Itachi, but with me, you turn into such an animal."

Itachi was glad his eyes were shut. He didn't need to look at his own reflection in the phone to know his blush was spreading everywhere. Like a wildfire. "Only for you. It's easy to get carried away...you make me feel so cherished." It was true. Shisui's mind was more often than not at the very least lewd in nature, but there was a certain reverence in the way he touched Itachi. Like he wanted to consume him in the most wonderful of ways possible.

"Yes…" Shisui's heart fills with a wonderful, soft fondness for Itachi, the love mirrored in his eyes. Then, a smirk begins to overtake his face again. "And one of the things I cherish most…is being able to lay you flat against the bed and worship you in all the ways you deserve, press my lips to your skin and leave my marks all across your body in the places only I get to see." He slowly raises himself out of the water and onto the smooth, worn rock that formed a ring around the lake. "But what I enjoy most is wetting your cock with my mouth and driving you to insanity."

"You know if you ever get tired of being a photographer, you could try your hand at writing erotic novels." Itachi feels his breath hitch as his eyes open at the sexy visions Shisui was conjuring seemingly out of thin air. "You've made sucking me off sound all at once like one of the most romantic things that could ever be done and also one of the most possessive. I wish you were here or I was there with you. I could frisk you under the waterfall." He shivers, feeling his arousal grow ever hotter with each passing second. It was unlikely that Shisui hadn't already noticed Itachi's predicament.

Shisui eyes the tent in Itachi's pants smugly as he reaches for his own red and throbbing cock. "If I were there, Itachi, you would already be on your knees, enjoying the gift I've left for you under your bed." He'd made sure to hide it well, waiting for just the right occasion to tell Itachi about it.

Itachi watches with undisguised appreciation as Shisui begins to pleasure himself. It takes a few seconds for the man's words to fully sink in. "Gift? What gift?"

"Hm…I think I'll tell you what it is later." He strokes himself lazily, imagining the scarlet blush that would taint Itachi's cheeks if he saw it. "For now…as nice as those pants make your ass look, I want to see you without them." His voice thickens and darkens with lust. "Turn your back to me and slide them down your hips. Slowly…"

For some reason that he couldn't really fathom, the act of stripping for Shisui when he wasn't actually physically present was more lewd than when he was. Still, he couldn't find it in himself to deny Shisui much of anything especially not when he was using that sinfully perfect voice of his. The one that was the epitome of every forbidden fantasy that Itachi had never imagined he'd actually act on. "Pervert. You're lucky that I love you."

He turns around, shivering at the realization that he knew Shisui was watching his every move. Itachi leisurely slides his pants down. Taking his time, exposing his red silk boxers and more and more of his legs. "How's this?"

Shisui's eyes glitter with amusement. "So you actually do bother with underwear when I'm not there." How cute. But they did hug his ass rather well… "Those too, Itachi."

Well, at least at this angle, Shisui wouldn't see his blush. Itachi was sure his face resembled a tomato at this point as he tugs off his boxers in one fell swoop. "So, you just want to stare at me?"

"Itachi, you are the most beautiful man I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Of course I want to stare at you." And Itachi had opened his eyes without Shisui's say so. He would remember that little bit of disobedience later. "Now, take the bottle and kneel on the bed facing me. Sit back on your heels and spread your knees wide so that I can watch properly."

It was hard for Itachi's mind to fully comprehend all those commands with all his blood flowing south, but he manages all the same. Grabbing the bottle, he shyly kneels while spreading his legs and facing Shisui. "You always did have a silver tongue." It was one of the things that Itachi missed most about his boyfriend.

Shisui smirks, willing to allow Itachi at least the dignity and pride of kneeling, rather thy laying flat on his back so that Shisui could see everything. "Itachi, would you coat your hands for me, then close your eyes again?"

The request strikes him as a bit odd, but Itachi sets about complying. After all, he'd come this far. So, it was easy enough to indulge Shisui by coating his hand and closing his eyes. "Alright. You, my love, have some rather unique fantasies..."

"Actually, it's the other way around." Shisui chuckles softly. "I'm going to give you a fantasy." All Itachi had to do was whatever Shisui told him. "I've tied your hands to the headboard, Itachi. You get to lay there helpless as I have my way with you. Understood? Your hands are now my hands. I control them."

"In theory, I understand. I'm still not sure why my eyes need to be closed, though." His heart skips several beats as a million scenarios blitz across his mind in record time.

Such a stubborn lover he had. But Shisui wouldn't trade him for the world. "Just to get you into a better headspace. That way it's easier for you to see me there, hovering above you, ready to pleasure you in every way you crave." He slows his own movements, willing himself to keep his head for the next few minutes at least. "Now watch, Itachi. Watch as I run my hand up your thigh, smearing the lube there as I grip your cock and an close my fingers around it like the pulse of a beating heart." He makes the same motion himself, squeezing his own cock first with his little finger, then his ring finger, middle finger, and index finger in a smooth, wave-like motion.

"Mmm okay. I can do that." He tries to imagine Shisui was teasing him in such a wonderfully wicked way. His own hand following the 'instructions.' Itachi hesitates only slightly as his hand finds his cock and begins stroking himself. Shivering slightly at the feeling of the lubrication 'accidentally' splashed against his thigh. "God, I miss you."

Shisui's expression warms, but retains a hint of mischief as his own imagination produces perfect visuals of Itachi bent over in front of him, ready and waiting to be taken. "I stroke you softly at first, then run my other hand up your thigh and around your backside. You love it when I get my hands on you and make a mess of you, don't you Itachi?"

Itachi strokes himself, touching himself all over as his mind zeros on on that perfect voice. "I love it when you touch me, yes."

"Then I think you've earned yourself a tease. I rub my fingers around your hole, that beautiful little pucker that so loves to swallow me up." Shisui's husky chuckle suffuses the heated air. "Just like the way I like to swallow you down in my hot, wet mouth."

"I do love your fucking filthy mouth." Itachi pants slightly. Shisui's words just enough to override the embarrassment of touching that spot himself. It was all too easy to imagine Shisui sucking him off.

"That's right, Itachi. You love fucking my mouth, don't you? You always try to be so reserved about it, but you're a nympho that just can't keep yourself from getting yourself a deep down my throat as I can take you."

He strokes his arousal faster at the crudeness of Shisui's seduction. "You're just really good at it. I've never seen someone who literally treats my cock like it's a damn lollipop before...how am I not supposed to want to fuck your throat raw?"

Shisui groans softly, the sound reverberating through the phone. "And how am I supposed to resist when you taste so good, Itachi?" Still, Shisui would not lose control of this game. "But there's something else you love just as much as fucking my throat raw, isn't there, Itachi?" Shisui's voice quiets to almost a whisper. "You love it when I fuck you with my fingers, don't you? Do you want me to fuck you with my fingers, Itachi?"

"Mmm. I'm not going to argue with you when you want to suck me off. It feels so fucking good." Hot. It feels as though Itachi's entire body was wrapped in a blissful fire. "I always love it when you touch me."

"So needy. I think I'm going to keep circling a little, I'm not sure if you're ready yet." Shisui delivers the tease with a lightly veiled threat of drawing this out long past Itachi's limits. "What do you want, Itachi? What do you want me to do to you?"

"I want you to fuck me." He arches against the bed, memories of their previous lovemaking beguiling his senses. Even if with his eyes shut, he could so clearly picture Shisui on top of him. Kissing him. Taunting him with that smart mouth. His hands, his fingers, roaming everywhere in that way that only Shisui could. Like he couldn't get enough of Itachi. "Until I can't take it anymore." His fingertips glide along his entrance at the thought of being reunited with his lover.

"You want me to fuck you, huh?" Shisui's eyes light with fire. "Then I'm going to brush some kisses over your neck and collarbone as I press to of my fingers inside of you. You can handle two right now, can't you, Itachi? It'll be tight, but you're always so good for me, so willing, so ready."

"Yes, I want you to fuck me." He squirms a thousand wickedly lewd fantasies blitzing across his mind in record time as his fingers tease his opening more. You know it drives me crazy when you kiss my neck." Itachi pants, remembering all the times when Shisui had driven him half to a blissful state of madness just by brushing his lips against his neck. Against his collarbones. Kisses, licks, or bites...it didn't matter. They all were enough to send sexy shivers racing down his spine. "I can handle it. It feels so good to have you touch me." He could feel his face grow flush with desire as he slides two of his fingers inside him. "I love your mouth, your fingers, your cock, everything about you."

"And I, you, Itachi." Shisui growls softly, barely drowning out a desperate groan as he strokes his achingly red cock. "Now I'll stretch you wide enough for a third…and curl my fingers right up inside of you. I'll press them hard against that spot you love having me touch, that spot that drives you mad for me."

The growl sends white hot waves of lust through Itachi. There was something primal about hearing Shisui make that sound that drove him insane. "You're so good at finding it. I think you know my body better than I do." He stretches himself further, working his fingers faster until he was prepared to add the third. He curls the three fingers inside himself, searching for that spot that would make him see stars. "Fuck!" It didn't take long to find it. Itachi writhes against the bed. All the while thinking about the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen and the man who had stolen his heart so easily.

"Itachi…" Shisui groans lowly as a spurt of white dashes across the rocks. His breath catches in his throat as he gazes at the image of Itachi coming undone from self-pleasure, vivid imaginings, and his voice alone. "Yes…cum for me, Itachi. You are beautiful, My Love."

The praise and feeling of his own fingers teasing his spot was enough to push Itachi into a seductive spiral of sexual release. "Shisui!" It was all he could do to scream his lover's name as he came hard and fast.

Shisui pants softly, his gaze full of nothing but love and satisfaction as he watches Itachi fall bonelessly against the bed they'd shared so many times. "…Beautiful…you really have no idea how beautiful you are, Itachi." Within his own body, a sense of warm completion spreads through him from head to toe.

"I could say the same for you." Itachi smiles at Shisui as the warmth of his afterglow begins to spread throughout his body. He removes his fingers as he opens his eyes and focuses his gaze on the phone. "Photographer, author, or model...you could do any of those things. You could do anything you wanted. Be with anyone you wanted and you chose me. That makes me happy."

Turning over onto his side, Shisui readjusts the phone to focus on his flushed face. Sweat soaks his hair, plastering the curls to his neck and forehead. And despite the heat…he could hardly be happier. "And you chose me. I think that makes us even."

Itachi smiles at the sight of his flushed and happy lover. "I suppose it does. I can't wait till you're home."

"Me either. But I promise that I'll enjoy myself here in the meantime, so promise me that you'll try to have some fun while I'm gone too, alright?" Shisui didn't like the idea of just running off to have fun if Itachi wasn't finding ways to enjoy himself too.

"I will. I promise. I'll think of something." He winks at his boyfriend. "Maybe I'll hangout with Sasuke. Hopefully, he's done with his overprotective little brother speeches by now."

"Oh, I doubt that little firecracker is done." If Shisui had read the kid right, Sasuke wasn't done by a long shot. "But…if you do get bored, I did leave your present under the bed for you."

"Probably not, but one can hope." Itachi chuckles, only to quirk an eyebrow. "A present?" He reaches under his bed to see what it was.

"Yeah, I thought that you might get lonely while I was gone, so I thought that you might want a friend to keep you company." Shisui's lips curve into a wicked smirk. "What's eight inches long, red, hard, but soft enough to help you have a really good time?"

He blinks. Well, that wasn't what he expected. "Apparently, a rather convincing replica of your cock. Did you get a mold made... this is rather detailed?" He looks it over carefully. It was practically identical. It had to be a mold. Itachi couldn't help but blush as a few scenarios about how to make good use of the present pop into his mind.

"I did. It was a bit annoying to sit still for that long, but I took the opportunity while you were in one of your meetings. You know, the one with Kakashi and Konan over my itinerary and what sites I would focus on?" It had been uncomfortable as hell, but honestly, Shisui was rather pleased with how the piece had turned out.

Itachi smiles at what Shisui would endure to surprise him. "That was very sweet of you in a lewd sort of way." Then again, that did sum up most of Shisui's personality really. So, Itachi wasn't sure why he was surprised. "I'll make sure your efforts aren't in vain."

**End of Lemon**

"Oh, don't pretend you're going to do it for me." Shisui chuckles and shakes his head. "If you expect me to believe that you're not a nympho, then you've got another thing coming."

"The two aren't mutually exclusive." He blushes once more. Itachi had never blushed much before he met Shisui, but now it was becoming a near daily occurrence. "You bring it out in me."

And it was at this moment where, more than anything else, Shisui wished that he could lean in and kiss Itachi forehead. He was honestly the sweetest person Shisui had ever met, despite the cool and professional demeanor he tried to show at work. But there was nothing about Itachi that Shisui didn't love. "And I look forward to bringing out a lot more in you. Because…I really do think that I'll love you forever, Itachi."

Itachi grins at him. "I don't think forever will be long enough." Though something about Shisui's words causes him to look down at his wrist. It was a peculiar feeling of deja vu. Hadn't that been almost precisely what the man in his dream had said?

And there on his wrist in fuzzy tan lettering were the words from his dream. _I will love you forever._


	8. Chapter 8

Reflections of Eternity

**Authors' Note:** Thanks for the reviews. We hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 8

_All around him, the image of the surrounding valley disappears as he removes his left eye. The throbbing pain only adds to the pain in his lungs, but he was a shinobi. Pain meant nothing to him. All that mattered…was leaving what was left of his power in the hands of the one he trusted above all others. His best friend. His one true love._

_Slowly, he holds out his hand, blood running over his fingers and down his arm, just like the blood that runs down his face. His time was coming, he knew it. The poison had run its course, there was nothing left for him to do but to make this one bequest. "Take this, use the power of my Mangekyo to protect the village…and the Uchiha name." There was no time for a tearful farewell, so he maintains a soft, determined smile. "You're the only one I can trust with this power."_

_Itachi stares a surreal sense of horror ensnaring the very depths of his soul. He had just torn out his own eye and was saying goodbye. He was planning on dying. This couldn't be happening and yet there was no denying as he reaches for his friend, he could feel the eye that had been so unceremoniously pulled out of its socket. It was real. All of it and there was nothing...he could do about it, but he had to at least try. "You don't have to do this. There has to be another way." Maybe they could at least have one of those eyes restored. The threat of war had been brewing under the surface of the village for far too long, but seeing the physical proof of it was enough to make his face wet with silent tears. Tears that he could no longer see._

_"You know there isn't." He'd had weighed the odds, and he knew that, so long as he was alive, the conflict would not end. There would always be conflict over his eyes, and already…one had fallen prey to that conflict. "It's my own fault for failing. But I'm sorry for making you suffer on my account." His hand falls away as he hears the flapping of wings. So, one of the crows would take it. That was…good, it would be safe there. No one would think to look there once he was gone._

_"I don't care about a name. It's always been you." Itachi sighs, closing the distance between them and resting his forehead against his friend's. "You didn't fail. So much hatred and bad blood has been allowed to simmer for generations. It will take time to fix, but we can." He brushes their lips against each other, trying to ignore the metallic liquid that was sliding down his beloved's face. The blood pouring from the other man's injuries. "We'll find a way. I know we will. Stay with me."_

_Knowing it was his last chance in this lifetime to hold this boy who was beautiful inside and out, Shisui captures his love's lips one last time and holds him close. The kiss tasted of blood, of his own blood, but the warmth of it makes it worth it. He brushes his thumb over the soft, flushed cheek and wipes the tears away. "I'm sorry…so sorry…" It was as much as he could allow himself, or he would lose his nerve. He breaks the kiss and takes a step back, then another, and another, inching back towards the edge of the cliff._

_Six inches from the edge, he prepares the seal that would destroy his body in its entirety. No one would ever find his remains, for there would be none. "…Maybe next time we'll have better luck…" If he was forgiven, if his love remembered anything of him, if…it worked at all._

_Then, he wipes the blood from his face and smiles. His heart aches, knowing that this would destroy Itachi. But it would also give him the power he needed to protect the village. "Itachi…I will love you forever."_

_He took a step back…and everything ceased to exist._

* * *

Shisui shoots up in bed, waking to an intense falling sensation. He breathes hard, remembering bits and pieces from the dream as he presses his hands to his eyes. There…they were still there. Slowly, he lays back down and leans back against his pillow, his skin covered in a cold sticky sweat.

He'd had nightmares before, terrible, incomprehensible dreams. But this one…it felt so real. He could still feel the pain in his lungs from the poison, feel the throbbing pain of empty eye sockets.

He couldn't fathom a reason why his dream felt so real, or why he would rip out his own eye in that dream. How had he even lost the first one? "Fuck…"

Shisui turns over onto his side and slowly opens his eyes as he wraps his arms around his pillow. What was wrong with him…? His wrist twinges, so he turns it over to glare at the place that felt almost itchy.

_**Stay with me.**_

His eyes widen as the words from his dream appear in startling relief against the once ivory pale skin of his wrist. Tanned a little by the sun, his skin makes the words appear almost silver in their curving, swirling beauty. And in reading the words, his thoughts carried by the dream ring like bells in his head.

What…had he done?

* * *

Itachi awakens, his heart racing and his face soaked with tears. Everyone had nightmares, but the word didn't capture the truth terror of what he had felt. The sense of loss. The horror. Everything.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Itach frowns, placing his hand over his chest as if that would somehow soothe the panic that was laying siege to heart.

None of it made any sense. The dream had taken place in another era. That much he was sure. The man had spoken of a village and for some reason thought yanking his eyes out and jumping off a cliff was going to protect said village. And to top it all off, his hand was burning. Frowning more, Itachi dares himself to look at the inflamed skin only to freeze at the sight of it. No longer was there a smudge or bruise, but a perfectly legible sentence.

**_I will love you forever._**

The same words. Everything kept circling back to them. Just one sentence and yet, it apparently defined everything. Itachi had never given much thought to past lives before, but now..."It feels so real. I've heard it in two dreams now." Surely, the fact his subconscious kept dreaming about this had to mean something. Itachi just wasn't sure what.

* * *

By dinnertime, Itachi was still trying to get the dream out of his mind when the sound of the phone ringing jolts him back to reality. Upon picking it up, it was rather evident who the caller was. "Sasuke, slow down. What precisely are you sulking about?"

An irritated sigh can be heard over the call, likely accompanied by Sasuke's usual rolling of the eyes. Something annoying had happened. Again. "I said that a blond IDIOT dragged me off to a fair, one of those…pop-up amusement parks or something. And I SAID that I'm annoyed and tired and just want to go home, but the idiot won't let me out of his sight!"

"He is your ever faithful puppy. He wanted to take his owner out for a walk." Itachi couldn't help but chuckle at Sasuke's exasperation. Really he should be used to Naruto's antics by now. "I suppose that I can come and save you. It's not as though I have any plans for today."

"He is not a puppy, and I don't OWN him." Sasuke's seething grows a little louder. "You and your boyfriend might be into kinky roleplay, but I'm not, especially with someone who ISN'T my boyfriend."

"Sasuke, he is your ever faithful...hyper shadow. He is hopelessly devoted." The outrage in his brother's voice was enough to prompt a full blown laugh from deep within his belly. "And that's fine. Everyone has their own unique tastes."

"We're still not dating, and you're still the kinky one." Not that Sasuke wanted to know the details of just how kinky his brother was. "Just come and abduct me, Itachi. I don't care what excuse you have to use, just get me out of here and away from all of thee idiots." The line suddenly goes very quiet, then Sasuke's voice rings out again. "Naruto, we are NOT riding on those teacups! Those are for couples!"

"Are you still pretending you're not dating? And there really is nothing wrong with having a healthy sexual curiosity." His brother's horror shouldn't have been so damn funny, but Sasuke's denial of his feelings for Naruto was Itachi's favorite form of comedy. "Never mind. I'll be there soon. Enjoy your teacups."

"Just get your ass here fast!" Sasuke growls and hangs up after muttering a long train of expletives under his breath.

Itachi chuckles and reaches for his jacket, slung over the back of his chair. If his little brother needed rescuing, so be it. But Sasuke was foolish if he thought that Itachi wouldn't do his very best to enjoy every minute of it.

* * *

Itachi shakes his head as he pulls into a parking lot close to the fair. After purchasing his ticket, he walks down past the souvenir and candy stalls and sees a rather eccentric looking booth. It was like something straight out of a cheesy movie and had a fortune telling sign on it. "Well, it's worth a shot."

It wasn't something that he would normally indulge in, but those dreams wouldn't leave him alone. The worst case scenario he wasted twenty bucks or whatever the fortune teller charged. Deciding that wasn't such a horrible fate, he walks into the booth.

Past the strings of beads forming a curtain over the entrance, a figure cloaked in white and gold sits within the tent layered inside with scarlet fabric for walls and soft scarves of orange and gold draped across the ceiling and hanging into the tiny room. A small table sits to the figure's left, on it lay crystals and cards and a tiny golden dragon statue.

The figure in white lifts their head and deep green eyes stare out from a tanned face, half concealed with a white veil hanging over her nose, cheeks, and mouth. "Welcome."

"Thank you." He looks around. Well, he had to give the woman this much...she certainly knew how to create the proper atmosphere for this sort of thing. Itachi decides to sit across from her. "So...how does this work exactly?"

"That depends on what it is you want. I provide a number of services that range from crystal healing and chakra balancing to tarot and palm reading. Those are my…more commercial services. I also do dream interpretation and…for the right people, I may be able to offer a glimpse into the future." Her eyes shimmer softly, as if reflecting tiny, glittering stars. "And sometimes into the past, as well."

"Well, I have been having a strange dream lately. Dream interpretation might be best." Dare he hope something might actually come out of this? That he'd finally get answers? Desperation apparently was the mother of belief.

She nods and offers him her hand. "Then tell me about this dream of yours. Tell me what stood out to you, whether that be details or feelings."

He takes her hand, sighing. How could he possibly hope to explain this to someone? Let alone a stranger. "I'm afraid it's not a pleasant dream. I think it takes place in another era. There is a boy...he's only a little older than I in the dream. I'm also younger than I am now. A teenager."

"You and he were close." She smiles softly and squeezes his hand. "And this dream causes you pain because…one of you was hurt?"

"Yes. I apologize this is rather...gruesome." Itachi winces at the memory. He could still see every detail so clearly. The other boy ripping out his eye. The blood running down his hand as he held it...how he jumped. "Someone stole his eye and he removed the other with his bare hands. He apologized to me, but said it was for the safety of the village. I begged him to stay with me..."

"You loved him." She reaches out to touch his face, to cup his cheek in her hand as she leans a little closer. "You loved him and he left you, and now your heart is calling out for him, isn't it?"

"I believe I did. I was so young in the dream..." That hadn't made the feelings any less intense. He could feel them even now. "He said he'd always love me and then...he jumped off a cliff into river. Killed himself."

The woman's eyes shift, the green brightening into a fiery red-gold. "…And no one ever found his remains. He trusted you, his best friend, with his eye, with his powers. He wanted you to use that power to protect…from the shadows. So you took it and placed it into a crow, one that would accompany you on your dark path."

Itachi freezes. He hadn't told her about the rest of it. "How did you know about the crow? Something is going on with your eyes." Was it some sort of special effect. "They've changed color."

She smiles knowingly. "Yes, they do that sometimes, when I'm reading for the right people. When you see a fortune-teller, you assume that all they do is parlour tricks for gullible tourists, right?"

"Well no offense, but yes." He eyes her warily. What the hell was going on?

"And normally, you would be right. Those who pass themselves off as "fortune tellers" are usually doing this for the fun of it or to make an easy few hundred dollars over the course of a weekend, but they have no actual skill in the arts they claim to practice. I…am not a fortune-teller, not really, it's just the socially acceptable term at a fair like this." She turns his hand over an strokes his palm with her thumb. "Just know that…I see things, Itachi Uchiha. I can see the future of that past. I can see the sadness that it caused. The pain. And I can see the one who holds your heart in his hands, the one who has been protecting it with every life that passes."

Terror and hope warred within his heart in equal measure. "Then you know what the dream means? Why the words appear on my hand?" He might actually get answers to all the questions that were plaguing him.

"He put them there as a reminder of his vow. Using the last of his power, he bound himself to you, so that your souls would circle one another, for eternity if you had to, until you found one another again. No matter in what age…or what world." She smiles and a shining tear trickles down her cheek. "If only everyone was as lucky as you. A vow of love for all eternity…from the one who can love you like no one else ever could…I think his is the truest love I have ever seen."

"He...did that?" Even a short time ago, Itachi would have thought it was romantic nonsense. A whimsical view of love that while enchanting wasn't physically possible, but looking at the words on his hands...they rang true. "Is there a way to discern if I know him in this life?"

She removes her hand from his cheek and wipes away the tear on her face. "He placed his dying words on your skin, the last words he ever said to you. He placed them on you to mark you as his soulmate. I would think…that you are not the only one with words marking your skin. Whether anyone but the two of you can see them, I cannot say." But one thing rang true. "If they are appearing now, of all times…I think it's because it's time for you to finally awaken and become aware of that connection. I think…that the next time you touch your soulmate, you will know exactly who he is."

"Thank you." It was profound in a way that Itachi knew he'd never be able to convey. Everything felt so true in her words. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Her eyes fade back from their startling fiery gold to soft, gentle emerald. "Only that your little brother is thirty-eight seconds from having his brains kissed out, and that you may or may not want to interrupt him and the idiot."

Itachi chuckles. Now that was something he could believe. "I think I'll enjoy a leisurely stroll and watch the fireworks then."

She laughs softly and returns her hands to her lap. "Then enjoy the fireworks. And when he gets back…I think that you and your boyfriend should have a nice sit-down dinner, maybe watch a movie and cuddle, then end the evening with a bath."

"That seems like a fine idea, but knowing Shisui we'll skip straight to the bathroom." Not that Itachi minded. He takes a final glance at the fortune teller or whatever she was before heading off to find his foolish little brother. If nothing else, whether she was right or wrong...this would prove tremendously entertaining.

* * *

Sasuke pouts irritably as he sits in Itachi's car. Honestly, why couldn't his brother have arrived SOONER? Had he not made it perfectly clear that he was in imminent danger of being made a fool of in public by his idiotic best friend who'd decided to…to…

"So...how'd it go?" Itachi couldn't help it. Sasuke's sulking was almost impossibly endearing.

"How do you think it went? You took so long that the idiot managed to embarrass me in front of a hundred people!" Sasuke's pale cheeks flush a deep, burning pink that extends all the way to the tips of his ears.

"As charming as your bashful tendencies are, I meant did you enjoy the actual act?" He shakes his head. Honestly, one would think Sasuke was still in middle school sometimes.

"…It was…okay, I guess." It wasn't what Sasuke would have wanted for their first kiss, but it's not like it could have gone any other way with such an IDIOT for a… What were they now? "He tasted like cotton candy, though. Too sweet."

"Well, perhaps it will grow on you or that could be because he just had some cotton candy." Itachi was well aware of Sasuke's hatred for all things sweet in nature when it came to his taste buds.

"He ate three whole…bushels of cotton candy, a bag of caramel corn, and two lollipops before kissing me." It had been a sugary explosion that Sasuke hadn't appreciated. "…He's really warm, too."

"I'm surprised Naruto hasn't turned into pure sugar this point." Itachi blinks. That was excessive even by the blond's standards. "He may have just been nervous and indulged his sweet tooth to cope with it. That's nice he's warm."

"Are you kidding? Naruto is never nervous." Sasuke was pretty sure that Naruto was too dumb to even know what the word nervous meant. Or the word caution, for that matter. Or slow…never mind, he knew what slow meant. That kiss had gone on for…ever…

"He's always been confident, but everyone gets nervous sometimes. Sasuke, you're a genius when it comes to academics and so many other things...but you're blind in others. That boy has been in love with you for years." Itachi continues driving them home, wondering if he needed to actually provide Sasuke with a diagram or something of that nature.

"If that's true, then he's an idiot." Sasuke rubs at his wrist. "All I've ever done is make fun of him for being the idiot that he is."

"Love isn't logical. It just is." Itachi reaches over and pokes Sasuke's forehead. Yes, apparently he would need to spell it out. "Our hearts often don't care if something is smart. It's love not a math equation."

"Says the one who went to see a fortune teller about it instead of coming to save me from public humiliation." Sasuke wasn't an idiot, he knew Itachi had his doubts too. "You look for logic in everything, including love."

"You can't accuse me of being too logical after I saw a fortune teller." And how did Sasuke even know about that anyway? Never mind. It didn't matter. "The point being he loves you. It's up to you to determine if you return his feelings. Imagine for a moment, he had pulled that teacup kissing stunt with someone else instead of you. How would you feel?"

Sasuke's inside rise up in revolt in an instant. "…Point taken…" If Naruto had kissed someone else…Sasuke probably would have silently plotted to kill them. "So what did the fortune teller say? I saw you duck into the tent when Naruto was dragging me into that love tunnel."

"He drug you into a love tunnel? Who would have thought Naruto was such a classical romantic." A soft laugh escapes his lips, but Sasuke's question makes Itachi frown. "Essentially my dreams are leading me to my soulmate and I'll know them next time I see them."

"Your soulmate?" Now that sounded…very weird. Sasuke also saw what could become a bit of an awkward problem if there was a soulmate involved. "So does this mean you won't be with Shisui for much longer?"

"I'm hopeful that it is Shisui." If it wasn't, Itachi knew that he'd be devastated. It'd be far worse than what had happened after he had ended things with Sasori. "What's meant to be will be, though."

Sasuke glances at his brother, sees how hopelessly in love he is, and sighs. "Yeah, I hope it's Shisui too. At least he's actually sane. Because if he's not, then you'll go back to looking, and we both know that you don't have the best taste in men."

"One relationship that ended because were busy with our studies doesn't mean I have bad taste in men overall." He huffs. Honestly, Sasuke could be such a brat sometimes.

"Itachi, he stalked you to your office. If it weren't for Shisui, who knows how far he would have pushed to try and get you back?" Besides…Itachi hadn't seen the looks that Sasori had given him when his back was turned. Sasuke had, and he never liked the asshole.

"He went too far, but showing up with flowers is hardly terrifying. Besides, that's still only ONE relationship and it's over anyway." Itachi shakes his head as he drives them home.

"Hn." Sasuke still preferred Shisui. Itachi smiled a lot more around Shisui. And he seemed more…like he was in love instead of just passing the time. Sasuke didn't want to see that stop. "Well, let me know if you dump Shisui. He's mature and can cook, and he doesn't seem super clingy. He'd make a better boyfriend than the idiot."

"He's mine. Besides, he's far more clingy than Naruto behind closed doors." Itachi snorts at Sasuke's denial.

"Hn. I find that hard to believe. Didn't he leave like…two months ago for the Amazon?" Sasuke forces his lips not to twitch. Itachi was falling right into the trap.

"That was for work. There's a difference." Itachi was more than certain that Shisui would make up for the time he was away.

"Right, of course, your boyfriend is an incorrigible snuggler, I forgot." Sasuke rolls his eyes. "And are you his favourite teddy bear, Itachi?"

"I suppose that's an accurate enough G-rated way of interpreting it." He might as well make Sasuke squirm. He'd started it. "In any case, you have an affectionate puppy who would love to be your lapdog if you let him."

Sasuke's cheeks heat again at the innuendo in the words. "…Yeah, I bet he would be." He crosses his legs and leans his head against the cool window. This was going to be a long ride home.


	9. Chapter 9

Reflections of Eternity

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews. We hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 9

Itachi glances at the clock for the thirty-eighth time that day. Yes, he'd actually counted. He needed to something to pass the time and scrolling through his phone again wasn't much more appealing than the clock. Still, he knew it'd be worth it. Any minute now, Shisui would be coming. His heart beats a little bit faster at that thought.

It had been a long two months. Of course, Itachi could never begrudge his lover for going on his dream assignment. For a nature photographer like Shisui, taking pictures of the Amazon rainforest was likely akin to finding the holy grail. That didn't mean he hadn't missed the other man horribly. It had been lonely and with his dreams coming more frequently, his nerves were on edge. The words of the fortune-teller kept replaying in his head on an endless loop. Would he really know if Shisui was his soulmate the next time he saw him? Was it someone else? Or had the fortune-teller just been an exceptional con artist?

From within the din of the hustle and bustle of the airport, the speakers announce the arrival of yet another flight, then the imminent departure of four more. Seconds and minutes tick by as the crowds thin and thicken. Then, from the baggage claim, a small tidal wave of people surge forward into the arrivals lobby from the two thirty-six arrival from New Orleans.

Itachi's heart leaps at the sight of the arrivals. Shisui had to be amongst them. He stands on his tiptoes trying to see through the crowd. Looking for a familiar head of curly raven hair or those gorgeous bedroom eyes that never failed to take his breath away.

And past a family of six, all sporting tans from their time south, warm yet piercing onyx eyes gaze out towards the waiting relatives and escorts. And finally, they snap to Itachi.

A blue duffel is hefted over his shoulder to brush against newly cropped raven curls. And, with his luggage secure, the photographer weaves carefully through the crowd with happiness glowing in his eyes.

Itachi beams as he closes the distance between them in the span of a few breaths. His arms immediately wrap around his lover's neck as his smile only grows. "I'm glad you're back." It was a relief to feel the warmth of Shisui's skin underneath his hands once more. To be able to breathe in his scent...which was even more foresty than usual, courtesy of the Amazon. "Let's get you home. You must be exhausted from your flight."

"A little tired, but never too tired for you." Shisui wraps his arm around Itachi's waist and shamelessly presses a kiss to Itachi's lips, then a second and a third. It had been so long since the last time he'd held Itachi in his arms. Maybe next time he would ask or Itachi to come with him.

Itachi feels his face turn a brilliant shade of crimson at the public displays. Still, he kisses back without hesitation. He'd missed Shisui too much to chide him for carrying on like newlyweds in an airport. "I'm always happy to hear that. I'll drive us. I can grab your bag if you want." Jet lag could be a bitch. The least he could do was offer to carry his boyfriend's luggage.

"Nah, just keep kissing me. I feel more alive when you kiss me." Shisui preemptively silences any protests by slipping his tongue into Itachi's mouth and drawing Itachi into a deep, burning kiss.

Itachi moans, kissing back. It was all too easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of Shisui's sensuality. Was this what the fortune-teller had meant when she told him Itachi would know when he touched his soulmate? He couldn't imagine anything better than this.

Shisui revels in the kiss a little longer, then gently breaks it and leans his forehead against Itachi's. "You know…this is exactly the sort of welcome I'd hoped for when I got home."

"You mean you were hoping to leave half the airport scandalized and the other half salivating with jealousy over us?" His eyes shine with mischief as he savors the closeness between them. "If so, mission accomplished."

"Exactly." Shisui pecks Itachi on the lips, then reaches to take his hand. The moment their fingers touch, Shisui almost jumps as a static charge leaps between them, leaving his nerves humming with a sensation almost like pleasure. "Wow, Itachi. I know you're happy to see me, but I didn't think you'd run over here so fast that you threw your synthetics in the dryer with your cottons just to have something nice to wear."

Itachi jumps a bit at the static. It felt like lightning, but not painful somehow. This must have been what she meant. "I didn't. I guess sparks just naturally fly between us." He offers him a sheepish smile.

Shisui chuckles and takes Itachi by the hand, smiling as the sparks dull to a low but constant hum. "I guess they do. I knew there was something I loved the second I set eyes on you." Shisui presses a kiss to Itachi's cheek and curls his fingers tightly around Itachi's. "Now I don't think there's anything left that I don't love about you."

"I feel the same way about you. I thought you were a deviant when we first met, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that you're a romantic deviant with a heart of gold." Itachi smiles, interlacing his fingers back with Shisui's. Even their hands fit perfectly together.

"Don't lie, you love it when I get deviant. I haven't even gotten to the really kinky stuff yet." Shisui leans over to nibble on Itachi's ear. "But I know that you secretly want me to show you just how kinky I can get."

He shivers at the feeling of Shisui's teeth upon his ear and enticing images his lover's words were evoking. His voice was now little more than a whisper as he tries to keep them from being overheard. "Shisui, you sucked me off under my office desk while one of our coworkers was there. How much more risque could you possibly get?"

Shisui smirks wickedly. "I could handcuff you, tie the handcuffs to the headboard, gag you, paint you all over with chocolate body paint, and then make you watch and feel as I take that present I got for you and slowly pump it inside of you to drive you just to the edge, but not quite over it. And I could let you hover there for hours as I tease you until you lose your mind. Then, when I'm finally ready to take you, I'd slowly lick every bit of chocolate from your body, using my tongue to melt it again and get you all sweet and sticky so that I'd have to fuck you in the shower later just to get you clean."

Itachi swallows hard as his breath hitches and his face burns the darkest shade of red known to mankind. "T-That was mostly a rhetorical question, but I can see you've given this matter a great deal of thought." Holy fuck.

"But that doesn't even begin to cover all of the ways I want to tie you up. I figure that we can get into the real bondage when you're a little more…comfortable with me." Shisui squeezes Itachi's hand, more than a little amused by the sight of his lover's wonderfully red cheeks. Itachi was so sweet and pure. But Shisui was determined to drag him down into the glorious depths of sexual deviancy.

"You sound more like an adult entertainer than a photographer right now." Itachi shakes his head, trying to WILL his blush to go away. It was a futile battle. The heat burning in his cheeks was as hot as ever. Molten lava scorching hot. "Part of me wonder how exactly you concoct these outlandish fantasies of yours, but I know better than to ask." His free hand trails against Shisui's cheek. How could his skin possibly be so soft after having spent months in the rainforest? "One thing I do know for certain, you're definitely a rigger and probably an exhibitionist."

"So does this mean I get to set up my camera in the room while I'm making you scream my name, Itachi?" Shisui catches one of Itachi's fingers in his mouth and sucks on it suggestively.

Heat pools low in his belly and in other more...private locations as Shisui sucks on his finger. The things that man could do with his mouth just weren't fair. "T-that's cheating to ask me that after you've got me all wound up."

Shisui slowly lets go of the finger, but licks it cutely one more time. "It's not cheating, I'm just making use of my most important assets."

"Well, I can't argue that you were gifted with a silver tongue." Itachi blushes, shaking his head slightly as he pulls Shisui forward. "Come on. Let's get you home."

"And will we be pretending that you don't have an ulterior motive for trying to get me home to my nice warm bed as soon as possible?" Shisui's eyes glimmer with heated mischief.

"There's no pretending involved. I'm actually trying to get you home to a nice, hot bubble bath as soon as possible if you must know." He leads his lover towards the parking lot. "Though I will admit to an ulterior motive."

"Sneaky 'Tachi. You've got a water fetish, don't you?" It amused Shisui that Itachi would go for a bath so often. "It's almost like you enjoy seeing me drenched, rosy-skinned, and glistening… Will there be candles to light the bath this time? Or maybe you've got some aromatic oils stashed away that you want to infuse me with so that you have an excuse to be burying your head in my shirt."

Itachi smiles, placing a small kiss against Shisui's nose. "Maybe a little bit, but I doubt you mind all that much. And to answer your question, both. If you prefer something dryer, I see you had the foresight to invest in sturdy furniture."

"I invest in what I think will last." Shisui's smile softens and warms. "Whether that's furniture or people, I focus on the things I want to keep for myself for a very long time."

He lays a brief kiss against his lover's lips. "As I said, you're a romantic deviant and I do love that about you."

"Only for you." Shisui laughs softly as they step outside into the cool air. He tilts his head and some of the short curls atop his head brush across his forehead. "Only for you, Itachi. Because I'll love you forever."

Itachi blinks, his eyes growing wide as saucers at those words. He tries to glance at Shisui's arm. The same words from the dream...did Shisui have a tattoo as well. "Stay with me."

The words echo inside Shisui's heart as if from a half forgotten dream. "Always." He puts down his bag and pulls Itachi close. "Why would I ever want to be separated from a soul as beautiful as yours?"

"I don't...really know." He rests his head on Shisui's shoulder. All Itachi knew was in his dream...his soulmate had thought there was something worth dying for. "I'm just glad you're here now."

"Yeah, I'm home." And Shisui was content to stay that way for a while. "Maybe next time, I'll take you with me on my adventure. I'm sure Kakashi and Konan wouldn't mind."

"I'd like that. I understand your job requires travel and I'm willing to wait, but going with you seems like the happy middle." Itachi smiles at Shisui, those three words, 'Yeah, I'm home,' meant more to him than he'd ever be able to express.

"Then I'll bribe them with the extra photos I took, and next time, I'll take 'home' with me to see the world." Shisui nuzzles Itachi softly. "I can't wait to show you the world, Itachi."

"As long as I'm with you, I don't really care where we are." Itachi leans against the man he loved more than anything and sighs in contentment. "Though I will admit I'm rather partial to Venice."

"Then I'll be sure to find us a nice big gondola when we go." Shisui laughs softly and takes up his bag, hefting it up with one arm as he reserves the other for Itachi on their walk to the car. Ah…it was good to finally be home.

* * *

Shisui wraps warm blankets around himself and his beautiful lover settled neatly in his lap. His hair was nearly dry, but Itachi's damp mane had needed braiding to keep it out of the way while it dried. Shisui had been all too happy to help his lover with any task that involved touching Itachi's silky soft hair. Still, Shisui chuckles as he settles back against a mountain of pillows while Itachi fiddles with the remote for the television at the foot of his bed. "You pick 'The Princess Bride' and you call me a romantic?"

"It's a classic. Besides, your being a romantic and mine being one aren't mutually exclusive concepts." He shakes his head. It was a good movie, but the real reason Itachi had chosen it was because he had seen it at least a dozen times. He knew almost every line by heart and if his mind started to wander, he didn't want Shisui to notice and call him out on it. "Though you might have preferred some version of classical fairy tale Rapunzel. You're obsessed with my hair." He was actually braiding it. Not that Itachi minded, but it was something to tease Shisui about.

"Itachi, you have the prettiest hair I've ever seen, and I've been all over the world." Yes, Shisui was obsessed with it, but for a very good reason! "You are inhumanly beautiful, Itachi, and yes that includes your hair. It would be a crime to not want to touch it at every opportunity. But I'm the only one who gets to indulge that want."

Itachi smiles at the praise. Alright. Shisui was eccentric, but it was in a charming way that made butterflies flutter deep inside his belly. "I'm glad you think so, but I suppose I should keep you away from my hair stylist."

"Why, are you afraid that your friend will get replaced?" Shisui presses a kiss to Itachi's cheek. "I've acquired decent skill with all of the basic styling tools."

"Well, I wouldn't want you to get jealous over a hair cut." He smiles reaching for Shisui's arm. Everything was perfect. He had to be the one. Shisui even said the exact same things as the man from his dream.

"And here you are trying to make me jealous. So are you sure that's what you want? Or are you hoping that I'll get so jealous that I'll just keep you home and your hair will end up longer than you are?" Shisui's eyes gleam as Itachi plays with his arm. He enjoyed the feel of Itachi's fingers on his skin, he always did.

"I do like my hair long, but not that long. and maybe I am a little bit." Itachi's eyes glance at his lover's powerful arm, searching for tattoo that would confirm his suspicions. "I enjoy having my ego stroked as much as the next person. Knowing you care enough to get jealous, well it's a guilty pleasure."

Shisui chuckles, then he tilts his head slightly. "What are you looking for, Itachi?"

"I was just curious about the mark you mentioned. If it went away or not..." He bites his lower lip, feeling far more nervous than he had thought was possible.

Shisui's eyes widen. He'd only ever mentioned one mark to Itachi before. He removes his right hand from under the blanket and puts it in Itachi's lap. "No, it didn't." Three words that haunted his dreams. Three words that seemed to refuse to go away. Three words that he didn't want to go away.

He looks at the words etched so intricately across Shisui's skin. For a few seconds, Itachi swears his heart stops beating entirely as time appears to alt in its tracks. "They're the same words as in my dreams. I have...something similar." Itachi gives Shisui his own arm.

There they were,those same words that Shisui remembered from those dreams that came to him almost every night. "I've…been having dreams. Two boys, different times, different places different conversations, but…there was one that…" It had shaken him in ways that the others could never hope to shake him. "They were at a cliff, and one of them…" Him." He threw himself off the cliff. He proclaimed his love…and then died. And the other boy…he knew it was going to happen. That's why he asked the other to stay. He asked…me to stay."

"I had...the same dream." Many times. It was branded inside his very psyche by now. Itachi could have recited the horrifying dream from memory word for word. "I asked you to stay and then you...well, you left." In a very permanent way. "It's the same for both of us. We've got words appearing on our skin like tattoos. I never put much stock in past lives before...but it feels real."

Shisui grows quiet as the movie starts to play. For a little while, he's quieter than he's been in a long time. Past lives…he died. Itachi asked him to stay, but he went and threw himself off of a cliff. Why had he felt the need to die? Was it because someone had stolen one of his eyes? What did that mean? Why was it so important that someone go so far as to steal one of his eyes and have him commit suicide? "I'm sorry…that you had to see that. And I'm sorry that I left you like that."

"I never got the entire context." Itachi winces. He doubted there was really anything that could ever make what he had seen 'okay,' but Shisui wouldn't have done something like that without a major reason. "I assume you did it because you felt there was no other choice. I don't really understand how, but I think you came back to me and I still love you."

"You still love me, huh?" Funny how those words felt so…solid, and yet so much more than just that to Shisui now. "I guess this means I was right after all."

"Of course, I do. I think...even without whatever this is, that much should be obvious." He sighs and kisses, Shisui's forehead. "After all, Sasuke hasn't actually rendered you sterile yet. That should speak volumes." He tilts his head in confusion. "And what were you right about?"

"That I would love you forever." Shisui smiles softly and rolls Itachi over to pin him playfully against the bed. "I said that I'd love you forever, and I did intend on keeping that promise, but it looks like I might have been keeping it a lot longer than I thought." One thing still bugged him, though. "But what got you on this detective's path anyway? It's kind of out of the blue."

"Yes, you kept your promise." Itachi blushes underneath Shisui, squirming a bit at the proximity and question. It was all just so embarrassing to admit. "It's a long story. Naruto drug Sasuke to the fair. Sasuke called me asking me to 'rescue him.' I happened upon a fortune-teller in a booth on my way to find him..."

"You went to see a fortune teller?" That honestly surprised Shisui. He'd always pegged Itachi as more of a skeptic than that. "What did they say?"

"She knew about the dream. She said that the next time I saw my soulmate, I'd know." The shock was written all over Shisui's face. Granted, Itachi couldn't blame him. He had never been one to indulge in such things before, but then again when Shisui was involved...Itachi had a habit of going outside his comfort zone. "And judging by the matching tattoos and dreams, I'd say...we both know whatever this is...it's real."

Shisui didn't know if the fortune teller was right or not, if the magical tattoos were real or hallucinations, or if the dreams were of a past life or just dreams. But he did know one thing. "What I know is that I love you and that I will always love you. If our dreams and a fortune teller say the same thing, then I'll believe them. I'm still trying to puzzle out what the dreams mean, but…" through Shisui's mind, a thought lances like a lightning bolt. "We were…ninja then, weren't we? It was what we'd been trained for." Trained to kill. "I don't think we were ever going to get a happy ending in that sort of place, real or not."

"I love you too and yes, I think we were ninjas." They had been something. There had been such a sense of urgency and the clothing had been so old fashioned. Ninjas made as much sense as any other theory and something about the word rang true. "I don't like hearing you say that. I like to think that maybe another way could have been found whether it was a dream or real, but what matters most is that we're here now."

"Yeah." Shisui lowers himself to the bed and wraps his arms around Itachi to spoon him under the blankets. "We're here now. And I plan on being with you or a very long time, Itachi." Because honestly, Shisui couldn't imagine ever letting Itachi go. "You're intelligent and beautiful, fun to rile up because everything exasperates you, innocent and adorable, you work hard and take that work seriously, and you're very romantic when you want to be."

"Well, I do enjoy the flattery." Itachi leans against Shisui, enjoying the closeness. There was a sense of peace surrounding the action that he knew he'd never fully be able to articulate. But it didn't matter. Shisui was here. "You're also intelligent and beautiful. You could have been a model instead of a photographer if you had wanted to. You're...a deviant of the highest order and also very romantic when you want to be. You're so...focused and fearless. I admire that in you."

Shisui presses a kiss to the back of Itachi's neck. "And I admire so many things about you…" He reaches down to entwine their fingers and press the tattoos together. Then Shisui's other hand trails down to cup Itachi's ass. He smirks against Itachi's skin. "This, most of all."

"Pervert." Itachi sighs in pleasure and exasperation. "Really, my ass is what you choose to comment on now?" He shakes his head, snuggling against the other man. Shisui would always be Shisui.

"Pervert and proud." Shisui's smirk softens into a smile. "But only for you, Itachi. Only for you."

"Glad to hear it. I can be quite territorial when properly motivated." He kisses Shisui, his mile only growing.

"Oh? And how territorial can my sweetheart get? I think we both know by now exactly how territorial I can be over what's mine." Shisui winds his fingers into Itachi's hair and brings it to his lips to kiss it.

Itachi smiles at the eccentric, but sweet gesture. "Extremely so. Best not to find out exactly how much."

"Yes, you're probably right." Shisui wraps the securely in the blankets to revel in the warmth of Itachi's body. He hums softly, content in the presence of his one and only. "I love you, Itachi. I really will love you for eternity."


	10. Chapter 10

Reflections of Eternity

**Authors' Note:** Thanks for the reviews. We hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 10

Itachi clicks save on his computer as checks his desk for a second time, ensuring everything was in over. It was just about time to go home. To his new home anyway. Things had blossomed even more so than usual after Shisui's return from the Amazon two months ago. Itachi had been terrified of confessing to his dreams, the tattoo, and what the fortune-teller had said, but his fretting had largely been over nothing. Shisui had seen the dreams as well and even had a similar tattoo. Being the romantic and impulsive pervert his lover was, it hadn't taken Shisui long to suggest they move in together.

They were still in the process of moving. They'd gone back and forth. Itachi insisting his modest apartment was fine because they didn't need a large apartment. Shisui's work involved a lot of travel and his place was less expensive. On other hand, his boyfriend was determined to 'spoil' him with something larger and considering they'd be a two income household..it wasn't as though they couldn't afford it. In the end, they had decided just to find a new place together.

It had been quite the journey. Their tastes were so different when it came to apartments apparently. Eventually, they'd found a 'charming compromise' and ever since then it had been a flurry of activity preparing for the move. Itachi had put Sasuke in charge of ensuring everything was moved. By now, his foolish little brother was greatly enjoying bossing Naruto around as he went about ticking boxes on his massive checklist of preparations. The blond didn't seem to mind, though. Itachi was pretty sure that Naruto thought his brother's bossy streak was 'hot.'

The door to Itachi's office opens slowly to reveal a smug smile and messy raven curls. "You look like you're chomping at the bit to go home, Itachi." As if Shisui didn't know why Itachi was so eager to leave the office for the day.

Their new place was going to be amazing. Two bedrooms to reduce awkwardness if they ever needed space. A guest room reserved mainly for Sasuke if he wanted to come visit. A spacious living room with a large alcove for a desk. Two bathrooms and a full kitchen with room for a dining table. And a small room that Shisui was planning to convert into a dark room. It was big enough for them both, but still small enough that it wouldn't feel too empty with one of them gone. Especially once they'd both moved all of their furniture into the right places.

Shisui holds up a file folder of pictures and approaches Itachi's desk. "I thought that I'd come bring you these before the day was over. They're some pictures that I think you'll be interested in seeing before we leave."

"Are you really going to pretend you aren't just as excited?" Itachi raises an eyebrow. His eyes lingering on Shisui's messy curls perhaps a touch longer than necessary. The man's hair practically screamed sensuality. He always looked as though he had just rolled out of bed after having the best sex of his life no matter the circumstance. It was both alluring and a little irritating.

He shakes his head, hoping to dispel the ever increasingly carnal train of thought his mind was embarking on before taking the file. Itachi opens it and smiles. "They'll make for fine decorations. It'll really feel like a home now." There had to be at least a dozen or more photos there. Most were of him, Shisui, or both. Though there were a few of Sasuke. He probably should have expected this. His lover was a photographer. Still, the gesture was touching.

"That's the point." Shisui slips around Itachi's desk and leans down to wrap his arms around Itachi's shoulders. "I want it to be more than just a place we come back to after work. More than just a place to sleep and eat. It's going to be a place for us to surround ourselves with everything that makes us happy." He presses a kiss to the top of Itachi's hair. "I know that you wanted a smaller apartment, but I think it'll feel a little less big and imposing once it's full of our memories."

Itachi smiles, leaning back against Shisui. "I guess that's true and I suppose it's just as well. Sasuke will likely visit a great deal. So, we wouldn't want the apartment to be too small, especially if he brings his puppy over." Naruto's bubbly and dog-like demeanor never failed to make him laugh. Those two were like night and day, but currently inseparable. In some ways it paralleled his own relationship to Shisui. "Besides, I imagine you could talk me into almost anything at this point. I should probably be grateful, you just wanted a larger apartment and not some kind of palace."

"You imagine I could talk you into anything, huh? Does this mean that I can keep a toy chest under the bed?" Shisui smirks and nibbles on Itachi's ear. "Because I was thinking of visiting one of my favourite stores later to pick up a few things."

"Almost anything." Itachi squirms. There was something incredibly erotic about feeling Shisui's teeth against his skin. It made it hard to think and his skin hot. "And I suppose you can. It's your home as much as mine." He swallows hard, almost afraid to ask but curiosity was a powerful force. "Which store are you referring to exactly?"

Shisui chuckles with amusement. "Itachi, stop pretending to be so innocent. That custom-order dildo I had made for you had to come from somewhere. I have a supplier for intimate needs that I visit every month or two to see if they have anything new in stock that I might like. I must have about six different pairs of handcuffs alone stashed away in my sex box."

"Well, I knew it had to come from somewhere." Itachi feels his face burn a rosy shade of pink. No one else made him blush as much as Shisui did. Itachi was confident that his lover did this on purpose. Trying to fluster him as much as possible. "I just didn't realize where or that you were such a regular customer. Handcuffs could be fun." A lot of fun really.

"They're a lot of fun if you know how to use them right. They have a lot of fun products, it's why I'm such a 'regular customer' as you put it." Shisui wasn't ashamed of his preferences and his kinks. Though he would admit that thus far, he hadn't really asked Itachi to let him do something completely outlandish. Or even anything more than mildly kinky. He runs his fingers through Itachi's hair and pulls the hair elastic from its place holding back Itachi's beautiful locks, freeing every strand as it was meant to be. He runs his fingers through that silky raven hair again and presses his fingers to Itachi's scalp in a gentle massage. "There's a lot of things that I want to do with you, Itachi."

"Mmm I fail to see what is so complicated about handcuffs, but you can keep doing that." There were few things more soothing than the feeling of Shisui running his fingers through his hair. A subtle sensuality combined with the affectionate nature of the gesture was enough to make Itachi want to purr like a contented kitten.

"You don't see it, huh?" Then Shisui knew just what contraption would do. "And what if I put a collar on you, cuffed your hands around your knees to keep them up and spread open for me, then chained the cuffs to your collar and made you helpless to resist while I teased you senseless?"

Itachi spins his chair around until he was facing Shisui, wrapping his arms around his lover's neck. He tilts his head to the side while trying to envision the scenario Shisui was painting before brushing his lips against his boyfriend's. "You do have some rather elaborate fantasies and you're ridiculously stubborn. That is more...complicated than I anticipated, but I suppose a little experimentation couldn't hurt. I trust you."

"And I trust you." Shisui sinks into a crouch as he captures Itachi's lips. He wouldn't make Itachi do anything he really didn't want to, but there was an intimacy in the sort of trust that it took to experiment with these sorts of things. And above all else, Shisui wanted that intimacy and trust.

He breaks the kiss with a smile. "Good. Then let's go home. I already finished up for the day and the fact you came here to discuss your...collection likely means you are as well."

"Finished hours ago." Shisui pecks Itachi on the lips and rises to his feet. He gently pulls his lover with him and slides an arm around Itachi's waist. "I came in because I got a text from your little brother. Apparently he's done bossing his puppy around. Our home is ready for us."

"I'm happy to hear it and suspect Sasuke is strutting about like a proud peacock after all that." He chuckles imagining those two in the middle of organizing everything. "Come on. Let's not miss the show."

* * *

The warmth inside the porch provides a stark contrast to the slowly cooling autumn air outside the new apartment. Shisui closes the door behind them and smiles down at his welcome mat, already laid out on the floor for them. No doubt Sasuke's doing…through Naruto. "It looks like Sasuke put a lot of effort into getting this place ready for us." Shisui was almost worried that he'd have to do all of the detailed decorating himself.

But no, the shoe rack was already in the porch closet, the hangars hung on the pole above the three tiered rack, and a key rack already hung on the seafoam wall beside the door. The gentle brightness of the pale blues and greens was a relief. Shisui had turned down the possibility of several apartments because of the established colors that would be hard to paint over.

"Sasuke has always been an overachiever in his own way." Itachi smiles fondly as he looks around at his little brother's handiwork. "He'd never settle for anything less than perfect. It's a little worrying sometimes, but I'm sure Naruto will be a good anchor for him." At the very least the energetic blond would distract Sasuke form his perfectionist streak.

Shisui toes off his shoes and sets them aside in the shoe rack before stepping out onto the golden hardwood floor. Real oak panels, or so they'd been told by the landlord. "Are you sure that he's the only one with a perfectionist streak, Itachi?" Shisui presses a cheeky kiss right beneath Itachi's ear.

Itachi steps out of his shoes and huffs. "I have a perfectionist streak too, but you have a slight masochistic streak. You really shouldn't pull a tiger by the tail like that."Shisui definitely was in for a spanking later.

"Is that so?" Shisui's eyes gleam mischievously and he draws his hand back only to plant it firmly against Itachi's ass.

"That's so. I think we should examine the bedroom immediately, actually." Itachi was about to drag his boyfriend off when he hears a knock at the door.

Shisui chuckles and places his fingers on the door handle. "Maybe later Itachi. It sounds like we've got company." He pulls open the door and peeks outside. "Hey there, what can I-are those cookies!?"

A young, female voice laughs as brightly as a songbird. "And fresh donuts, croissants, danishes, and mochi dumplings."

Itachi tries his best not to sulk at that, but he soon chuckles overhearing Shisui's excitement over cookies. His lover's inner child was alive and well. As was his sweet tooth. He follows Shisui, his eyes widening when they recognize who had brought the collage of food. "It's you...the fortune teller."

"The fortune teller?" Shisui raises an eyebrow curiously.

"Hey there, it's nice to see you again, Itachi." Her bright emerald eyes sparkle with warmth over the large plastic container filled to the brim with sweets. "I thought that I should bring you a housewarming gift and sweets were the most readily available offering."

"That was very kind of you." Itachi nods as he takes the offering. "I don't think we'll go hungry for a month thanks to you."

"Considering who I saw walking into this place earlier, I'm sure that those will be gone in two days, if that." She raises a lightly tanned hand to her neck and flicks a log, chocolate braid away from her skin. "Last I saw them, your brother was haranguing Naruto over his insatiable need to go through my Auntie's entire selection of sweets and pastries."

"That does sound like them." Itachi chuckles at the image. "Well, if nothing else business should be good with those two around. I think Naruto is the only one with a bigger sweet tooth than Shisui."

"No doubt, between Naruto and Shisui, I'm sure that she'll be cleaned out weekly." Her green eyes trail back to Shisui and gleam with a quiet and wistful longing.

Shisui tilts his head slightly, bemused by the sight of her expression. But he smiles warmly nonetheless. "You must work at that bakery down the street next to the shopping plaza."

"Yes, that's my summer day job when I'm not working the fair." Her gaze flicks back to Itachi for a moment. "I'm glad that you found what you were looking for."

"Thank you. I definitely did." Itachi wraps his arm around Shisui's waist. "And I"m glad that business is going so well for you."

"Thank you. But the best service I provide is pointing people in the right direction." She zips her green leather jacket a bit further up her neck to protect against the chill. "And if you ever want another reading, just go to the Dragon's Cave bakery, alright? If I'm not there, Auntie Miko knows how best to reach me."

"We'll keep that in mind." He smiles warmly at her. "The reading was very enlightening." Itachi couldn't imagine his life without Shisui in it now.

"I'm glad." She puts her hand on the railing and steps down towards the outer walkway of the third floor. "It was really nice to see you both again, so take care and don't be strangers, alright?"

"Sure, I'll pay a visit real soon." Shisui hums curiously as the girl grins brightly and disappears from sight, her braid flying through the air behind her. "So that was your fortuneteller, was it?"

"Yes, she's young, but she's...gifted." Itachi had always been a cynic to put it mildly, but the girl had made a believer out of him.

"It's…strange. I feel like I've met her before, but I'm also sure that I've never seen her before in my life." Shisui hadn't even had the chance to get her name. Yet, for some reason that girl made him want to pat her head, kiss her cheek, and mess up her hair just so she'd squeal with laughter.

"Maybe we knew her in the other life." Itachi kisses Shisui on the cheek. There were so many things about that existence they might never know, but what mattered most were they were together now. "Either way, she helped us find each other and for that I'll be forever grateful."

Shisui holds out his arm and bares his wrist to look at the words there. "Do you think she's the one responsible for these?"

"I don't know. I think there are some questions we'll never know the answer too." He traces his fingertips over words etched into Shisui's skin and his own. "But it doesn't matter. We found each other."

"You're right." Shisui smiles. Even if he wanted to know what the secret behind the words meant, why these dreams kept happening, what had happened to them in that other life…Itachi was right. They'd found each other now. That was what mattered. He raises his hand and tilts Itachi's chin up slightly. "I love you, Itachi." And he presses their lips together in a warm, delicate kiss.

Itachi returns the kiss with a smile. "I love you too. Nothing will ever change that, but you're still not getting out of that spanking for your bratty perfectionist comment."

"Is that right? I can't worm my way out of it?" Shisui's eyes glimmer excitedly as he takes Itachi's hand, closes the door, and walks backwards towards their bedroom. "Can't we at least discuss it so that I can make my appeal for mercy?"

"We can discuss it. Your begging will amuse me greatly." Itachi allows himself to be lead to the bedroom, enjoying the excitement in Shisui's beautiful eyes.

"Oh you're so mean to me, Itachi." Shisui pushes open the door to their bedroom, a cool, turquoise room with a large, blue-bedecked bed fit for a queen. "What ever will I do to escape your dastardly clutches?"

"The simple answer is that you won't." Itachi smiles smugly as they head into the bedroom.

Shisui's heart thrums with understanding, knowing that…so much had changed so soon, so quickly. Itachi needed a little time to feel in control. "Not even if I promise to be good?" His knees touch the edge of the bed and he sits down to pull Itachi into his lap.

Itachi takes advantage of the new position to push Shisui back against the bed. He playfully pins his lover's hands over his head and brushes his lips against Shisui. "Not even then. We both know that you're incapable of behaving yourself."

Shisui smirks as his cock twitches to life inside the confines of his tight black jeans. "And how long did it take you to figure that out?"

"One or two lifetimes at least." Itachi kisses him, toying with the zipper of Shisui's jeans. "And you definitely deserve that spanking."

"I'll take a spanking if it means I get to feel your hands all over me." Shisui loved nothing more than Itachi getting intimate with him. There was no feeling like it in all the world.

"You really do love to dig yourself deeper into a hole, don't you?" Itachi nips at his lower lip, and works off Shisui's jeans and boxers. "Why don't you be a good slut and get on your hands and knees for me?" Itachi releases Shisui's hands from his hold.

So that's how Itachi wanted to play this game, was it? Shisui wiggles his hips and smiles coyly as he rolls over onto his stomach. His jacket stays trapped under him as it pulls away from his shoulders and gets sucked into the blankets beneath him. Slowly, he pushes himself up onto his knees, his tight dark shirt clinging to him like a second skin.

"Good boy." As much as Itachi loved the sight of Shisui's bare chest and back, there was something erotic about his lover being half naked. He tilts his head at the thought as he brings his hand down on his boyfriend's backside. "Maybe I won't have to punish you too harshly. You're cute when you behave like an obedient sex kitten." He gives a small bite to Shisui's ear before issuing another smack to his boyfriend's backside. Itachi then starts alternating between stroking Shisui's ever growing arousal and spanking him.

A long, exaggerated moan leaves Shisui's lips and he looks back over his shoulder with mischief in his eyes. "Oh yes, Itachi. Spank me again." Though it took all of his willpower not to let his own words make him burst into laughter.

"Now, you're just indulging me." Itachi huffs, giving no warning as he moves down. He flips Shisui onto his back and takes all of his lover into his mouth. Sucking hard.

Maybe so, but there was no indulgence needed as Shisui's head falls back and a strangled groan rips from his throat. "Not…fair, Itachi." His fingers dig into Itachi's hair to curl and tug on the strands that slip against his skin like silk.

"That's what you get for laughing at me with your eyes." He murmurs, slowly gliding his tongue against the pulsating length as he sucks harder.

Against every instinct in his body, Shisui holds his hips as still as he can and breathes deeply as he stares at the ceiling and counts to…he loses his count three times at thirty, he thinks. "I'll make that a note for the future." But there is only so long he can resist before the sheer erotic force of Itachi's ministrations causes his blood to reach a boil and his essence to spill from his pulsing, throbbing cock.

Itachi licks his lover clean and releases him from his mouth with a loud pop. "Like I said, you really can't behave yourself." Itachi moves away, slowly pulling his shirt off. Deliberately taking far longer than usual to tease him.

Shisui pants softly, but a cheeky smile slowly curls his lips. "Don't lie Itachi, you love it." Itachi wouldn't be nearly as interested in him if Shisui were ordinary and boring.

He slides out of his pants. Itachi hadn't bothered wearing anything underneath them. "I love you, but I still can't let you get away with everything." He reaches into his discarded pants' pocket and pulls out a familiar bottle.

It had been a long time since Shisui had bottomed for someone, but he knew the drill, so he shifts his hips and rolls them forward as he spreads his legs and pulls his knees back slightly. Then, he relaxes and allows himself to become soft, pliable, easily moved. "I love you too, Itachi."

Itachi smiles, covering his arousal in the lubrication, doing likewise to his fingers. "Good. Always and forever." He slips two fingers inside his lover.

"Always and forever…" Shisui reaches up and pulls Itachi down into a kiss, ignoring the feeling of penetration for now. It was insignificant. He thrusts his tongue past Itachi's lips and claims his lover's mouth with a wild abandon.

He groans, deepening the kiss as he continues stretching his lover. "Fuck I love you."

"I'll love you forever Itachi." Shisui opens his eyes and shifts his legs to clasp his knees around Itachi's hips. "Now, Itachi." The consideration was nice, but right now, he just needed to feel the one he loved.

Itachi couldn't help but be impressed by the flexibility as buries himself inside Shisui in one thrust. "Fuck!" It was an enchanting madness to be inside his lover.

Shisui heaves a low moan and wraps his arms around Itachi's neck. He flexes his hips and shifts to allow Itachi to slip deeper inside of him. "That's it…go hard and go deep."

Itachi's groan matches Shisui's as he moves faster. If his lover was giving Itachi permission to fuck his brains out, he'd happily comply. He was almost dizzy with pleasure as he slams harder and faster into his lover.

Shisui rolls his hips up into the thrusts, taking them deep inside of him. His mouth falls open as the thrusts strike deep and send pleasure cascading through his veins. "Itachi!" His fingers drag down Itachi's shoulders and dig into the soft, pale skin.

Itachi shivers at the feeling of Shisui's tight heat wrapped around his cock and those fingernails digging into him. It was an addictive combination that spurs him to slam into his lover on pure, raw instinct.

Pale, slick skin rubs together and Shisui's arms grasp at his lover as his muscles clench tightly around Itachi. "Itachi…I love you…I love you…" He presses a heated and adoring kiss to Itachi's temple.

"I love you too." Itachi pants, moving in time with his gorgeous lover. Shisui's words and the feeling of being joined together in the most intimate of ways possible was more than enough to send Itachi spiraling over the edge of desire. His climax has him seeing stars.

Following searing waves of pleasure, a comfortable warmth spreads deep inside Shisui's belly as well as over his stomach. He pants softly in Itachi's ear and his body slowly goes limp and soft. Light pop in his eyes and a colorful outline glows around Itachi like a beautiful halo in the dim light coming from the window and hallway light. He runs his fingers along Itachi's cheek and smiles. "So how do you feel?"

"Good. Really good." Itachi smiles, sucking lightly on one of Shisui's fingers. "You're incredible." He didn't know how else to describe it.

Shisui chuckles and runs his other hand through Itachi's hair. "And you're even more so." He pokes the finger deeper into Itachi's mouth and flicks his lover's cheeky tongue.

He pouts at the flicking, releasing him before snuggling against Shisui's side. "I'm glad you think so."

"I will always think so." Shisui presses a kiss to Itachi's lips and holds his lover so close that the heat of their bodies melts and mixes and suffuses the air around them. "Because you are my one and only."

Itachi returns the kiss with a smile. "Good because it wouldn't end well for anyone who tried to steal you away from me."

"I know, and no one will steal you away from me. Not again." Shisui smiles, for that much was true. He would never let Itachi go again.


End file.
